Smile For Me
by 15x6x4-ever
Summary: "Smile, ochibi-chan. Smile!" Never would Ed have guessed how much truth lay behind those mocking words. Edvy
1. Anthem of the angels

AN/ Hey everyone and welcome to the prologue of Smile for me! It's an Edvy, cause there just can't be enough of those, and it's also my first fma story so if you could give me some feedback that'd be much appreciated.  
Also it's pretty short but it's only the prologue so don't wory, next chapter will definitely be longer ;)  
The Rating is M for now, for blood and gore later on. sorry fangirls but ya never know ;)  
well that was everything for now I think, hope y'all enjoy! xXx~64

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**Smile for me**

**Prologue**

Envy lays on his bed, brooding after yet another encounter with Edward Elric, the fullmetal alchemist, dog of the military, or as Envy liked to call him, fullmetal ochibi-chan.

It had been a fairly standard encounter. The alchemist was once again sticking his short nose where it didn't belong and Envy had been sent to scare him off. Standard procedure for the green haired homunculus by now, but then things changed.

Somewhere in the middle of their fight Envy had accidently snagged his fingers behind the red string used to keep the boy's braid together, causing it to snap and allowing his hair to fall freely around his face.

It only took one look at the boys slightly surprised face for Envy to freeze, the almost innocent look freeing a memory from the tight confines of his mind and bringing it to the forefront.

He had only managed to snap out of his daze when he felt the piercing caress of the boys automail blade on his abdomen.

After that it had only taken one last, slightly dazed look in the glaring gold of the boys eyes before he had turned around and left.

Leaving behind one heavily confused alchemist.

That had happened hours ago, yet Envy could still not escape the clutches of the memories the encounter had freed.

When he had only just awakened as a homunculus he had once gone to the Elric home curious to see what could've been his. What should have been his. What he had found there was nothing like what he first expected.

Upon entering Risembool he had been greeted by a young boy with long golden hair that flowed behind him in the soft summer breeze and a bright, carefree smile.

Envy had been stunned.

Never before had anyone ever looked at him like that, his creators had only looked upon him with scorn, yet this simple human boy had looked at him and smiled. Such a simple thing, but for Envy it changed everything. Where at first he had felt jealous, envious even of this boy that had taken his place. He had hated him, wanted to destroy him, but all these thoughts were chased out of his mind with just a simple smile. Even at that time Envy had known that this boy would likely be the only one to smile at him, truly smile at him, ever again. He didn't know what he had been looking for, but back then he knew he had found it.

Upon realizing this he had turned around and left, not even bothering to look around the Elric home he had originally came for.

When he saw the little boy again though, many years had passed. The flowing golden locks had been tightly braided and the once carefree, innocent expression had turned guarded. The little boy he once saw was gone…and that hurt.

Of course Edward hadn't recognized him, he had carefully shifted his appearance when he had gone to Risembool and to Edward he had probably been just another civilian passing by. Even so it still hurt.

Envy didn't want to admit it, still doesn't want to admit it, but somewhere deep down inside of him, in a place a normal person might call their heart, it still hurts to know that no one will ever smile at him like that again.

But Envy is no normal person. He is a homunculus, a sin. He is the representation of envy, and his name was chosen well.

He envies them, the people, the puny mortals that somehow managed to capture the attention of hís boy. The people that, even if just sometimes, he gives that bright smile of his. A smile they do not deserve.

Why should they get that precious smile, when he only glares at envy, yells at him and fights with him? Why should they have, what is meant to be his?

He hates them, blames them for his weakness, for making him hurt. Maybe if they had never existed his chibi would smile for him again.

So he would make them suffer.

He would even hurt his precious chibi for not giving him that smile…and because it's the only way for them to be together now.

It had been a long time since he'd made those resolutions and they had almost been buried by the hatred that had long since taken over his mind. Not anymore though. No from now on things would change, Envy would make sure of it.

With this last thought the homunculus finally fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

Somewhere nearby a broken red string lay forgotten on the ground, a snapped destiny.

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An/ and that's it! hope y'all enjoyed it and if so please tell me so I know whether to continue with this or not? xXx~15


	2. Home

**AN/ **Hey and welcome to chapter 1 it's the first real chapter and though it's a bit shorter than I normally try and make my chapters I still hope y'all will enjoy it.  
it's still only the beginning though so the next one's will hopefully be a bit longer.  
A big thank you to everyone who faved, alerted and reviewed, y're awesome!  
Also to Wong : Thank you! And yes it truly is a fun thing to say XD  
Now then, on with the chappy!

**Disclaimer : I do not own Fullmetal alchemist and make no profit of this.**

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Limping Ed made his way to central headquarters. He spit a glob of blood on the beaten pathway to his left and paused to wipe his mouth with the torn sleeve of his jacket before continuing on. Through the shredded leg of his pants the damaged contours of his automail were visible for all to see. His usually so carefully braided hair floated behind him on the breeze.

All in all he made quite the sight and he couldn't wait till he reached the city, where he would no doubt be subjected to the gawking stares of the citizens and his superiors mocking. Never mind the enormous scolding and the screwdriver to the head he would no doubt get when he had to ask Winry to once again restore his damaged leg. Oh yes, he couldn't wait.

With a sigh Ed finally saw the buildings of central appear on the horizon. With luck he'd reach the city in another hour or so. No thanks to the bastard that beat the shit out of him. Not that he'd ever admit it out loud of course, but Envy had been well on his way to once again leaving him broken and bleeding on the ground. He hadn't though and that was definitely odd. Not that Ed was complaining, but normally the violent homunculus took every opportunity presented to him to belittle and hurt the alchemist, often only stopping because of his companions timely interventions.

What had triggered this strange behavior from his volatile opponent Ed did not know. Envy had just frozen in the middle of their fighting and looked at him. Though not really at him, Ed corrected silently, it had almost been as if he had been looking through him, though what he was trying to see Ed didn't know.

At first he had hesitated, thrown off by the sudden pause and the shock that had taken over Envy's face. Soon though he had recovered and within moments his automail blade had been moving in a graceful arc towards the sin's abdomen.

That had seemed to snap him out of it, but instead of retaliating he just flipped back, took one last searching look at Ed and left. Leaving behind one very confused alchemist to stare after him.

Even now, hours later, Ed still didn't know what had happened. He had searched the surroundings for some kind of clue as to the others unusual behavior but had found nothing.

Eventually he'd had to resign himself to the fact that whatever it had been was probably already long gone, that or it had to have been something triggered by the others obvious insanity. It still didn't sit well with him though. He was a curious person by nature and he couldn't stand not knowing what had caused the sudden shift in the homunculus' behavior.

It seemed his curiosity would have to wait for now though. He had finally reached the city.

* * *

Stumbling through the packed streets Ed made his way over to the military headquarters. He glared at anyone that bumped into him, suppressing a wince when one particularly fat citizen knocked into his scratched, human, arm. Luckily the crowds soon thinned and he could walk relatively unhindered for the rest of the trip.

When he finally reached headquarters though, Ed was exhausted. He'd been up since early that morning and had been walking all day. The fight with Envy didn't help matters any either. Now he just wanted to sleep, and eat, but most of all he wanted to _sleep._

Grumbling he turned away from the direction of his room and turned instead towards the colonels office. That bastard better be there or he had another thing coming.

Roy sat behind his desk waiting patiently. He'd heard the fullmetal alchemist was back in town and if the curses coming from the hallway were any clue that information seemed to be true.

So when the short alchemist finally came stumbling through the door he showed no surprise, only raising a single mocking brow upon seeing the disheveled state his subordinate was in.

"Why fullmetal, are you alright?" The colonel asked with mock concern, "You almost look like someone stepped on you."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL AN ANT COULD SQUISH THEM?" The reaction was instantaneous and Roy didn't even try to suppress his smirk. For such a short person Edward had one hell of a lung capacity. A fact that still served to amuse the flame alchemist, no matter how many times before he'd heard it.

"Aren't I allowed to be concerned for my subordinates wellbeing?" Roy asked, doing his best impression of a kicked puppy. Apparently his best was not enough because Ed only scoffed and looked away, obviously still pissed.

Casting a look at the clock on the wall Roy sighed. It seemed he would have to cut this short.

"Fullmetal." He called out to the still fuming alchemist.

Grudgingly Ed looked up, "What?" he grunted.

"Report." Was the only thing Mustang said. Seeing how his superior was serious now Ed sighed and started talking. Beginning with the rumors that had led to his investigation and ending with his confrontation with the homunculus.

Mustang just sat there, listening stoically and sometimes commenting on a particularly stupid or rash action, in his opinion, of the alchemist's. Near the end though he couldn't quite keep his disbelief to himself.

"So the homunculus just turned around and left?" He asked one eyebrow mockingly raised. Somehow he found that very hard to believe.

Ed was by now about to fall asleep on his feet and was not very happy to have to repeat himself, "I just said that, didn't I? He grumbled irately. "You going deaf in your old age, bastard?"

"Nothing of the sort," Mustang answered calmly, "I just find it hard to believe that he would just leave, especially with the track record you two have."

"Well he did so suck it up." Ed snapped.

"Very well then, if you say so." Mustang said, a serene smile on his face that quickly turned into a smirk.

"Perhaps the homunculus just lost sight of you. It's not like that would be very hard to do after all."

Still smirking Roy watched as the boy shot to his feet, only to stumble and fall over thanks to his defective automail leg. Effectively stopping the short rant the boy was no doubt about to give.

"Fullmetal?" He called, pretending he lost the boy, "Hmm now where did he go?"

He smirked as he saw a metallic hand coming up to grip the edge of the desk, soon followed by a groaning fullmetal alchemist.

"Oh there you are." Roy said with a smirk. "I'm sorry I didn't see you there."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL A FLEE WOULD OVERLOOK HIM?"

Roy tried, really he did, but he couldn't suppress the chuckles that wanted to burst forth at seeing the fuming alchemist.

Ed for his part had had it. Taking one last look at the laughing colonel he turned on his heel and left, yelling out a couple of very colorful curses as he went. The colonel could choke on his laughter for all he cared, he was going to sleep.

Wincing as he heard his door slam shut Roy finally calmed down.

He took a considering glance at his paperwork, all three stacks of them, but decided that they could wait. He deserved a break.

His peace was short lived however, because not even a minute after he closed his eyes he heard the cocking of a gun and felt the cold caress of the barrel against his temple. Groaning in despair he opened his eyes and saw the stern visage of Riza Hawkeye staring at him disapprovingly. Looking back to his desk he resisted the urge to slam his head on the desk. The paperwork had doubled.

With a sigh he grabbed his pen and a form of the nearest stack and dutifully started scribbling.

A guy could never catch a break around here.

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AN/ okay, so like I said it's pretty short but it just felt right to end it there. Anyways thanks for reading and please review! xXx~15


	3. Come into my dream

**AN/** Okay, I'm sorry it took me so long to update this…but I have an excuse! (for once). First, my computer got a virus and I lost all my files, including all the fanfic's I'd been working on. Then the bloody internet stopped working. So yeah, it took a while to fix everything, but Im back now :)  
as always thank you for the faves, alerts and thanks to Wong for reviewing, it's much appreciated .  
Now let's continue with the story! xXx~64

Disclaimer : I don't own Fma.

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**Chapter 2 : Come into my dream**

Ed groaned as the sunlight filtered through the thin drapes and hit his eyes. He turned away from the window and threw his flesh arm over his eyes to block out the annoying rays. When this helped he let out a content sigh before drifting off again. He'd almost managed to return to slumber's loving embrace when his door slammed open and the sound of a pair of hollow metal feet clanking through the hallway reached him. Groaning Ed pulled the pillow over his head, trying to protect himself from what he knew was coming. Too bad for Edward, his pillow really was no match for an enraged Winry Rockbell and her loyal wrench.

Luckily for Ed he had his own loyal companion and soon the furious mechanic had been pulled of off him. Slowly Edward sat up, nursing the wrench shaped bruise on his head and looked at the sheepish Alphonse holding back a fuming Winry. How an armor could look sheepish Ed didn't know, but his brothers unusually expressive features really weren't his biggest concern now.

The upset mechanic in his arms was a different story.

Worriedly Ed watched as her anger was slowly replaced by a whole other emotion and frustrated tears started to form in her expressive blue orbs.

"I was so worried." Winry croaked out, sniffling lightly. "When they said you'd been hurt..." She trailed off and a broken sob left her mouth.

Quickly Ed scrambled up trying to prevent the emotional outburst he knew was coming. Al for his part had long since released her, looking a bit awkward himself. He didn't like it when people were upset, but he really didn't know how to deal with this situation either.

"Eh...Winry, don't cry. I'm fine, see?" Ed asked awkwardly, hopping to his feet and jumping around a bit, doing his best to convince the girl he really was fine. This failed when he managed to stumble over his broken automail leg, landing in a comical heap at her feet.

Ed let out a pained groan, ignoring the shocked cries of his brother and childhood friend. After assuring the others that, yes he was fine, he slowly sat up with some help from Al. The fall really hadn't helped with the aches plaguing his body but at least it seemed to have snapped Winry out of her overemotional, because she was now sitting next to him and looking over his damaged leg. prodding at it with a screwdriver and making disapproving noises at the wrangled steel.

At last she stood up and muttered something about going out to get some equipment and that he better not leave before she returned and then she was gone.

Ed let out a relieved sigh, glad he'd gotten away with only one wrench-shaped injury. Really, it could've been much worse. He still remembered the time he'd come back with his whole arm obliterated. Winry'd had to recreate it from scratch and she'd been none too pleased with him.

He was startled out of his painful musings when his brother softly cleared his throat. Slowly a feeling of heavy dread settled in his stomach. Swallowing hard Ed looked up at his brother only to cringe at the utterly polite look on his face. Obviously Al wasn't too pleased with him either.

"Al...can't you please just, not do this?" He asked feebly.

"Whatever are you talking about, nii-san?" Al asked sweetly, "I was just going to ask you how your injuries were, of course that wouldn't have been necessary if you'd just taken me with you."

Ed gulped, yeah Al was pissed.

"Al," he trailed off staring at his brother's expectant eyes, not sure how to start.

Taking a deep breath he tried again, "Al, I...you just needed a break okay? We both did and, well, I thought it'd be nice for you to visit with Winry and the old lady and...If I'd known the homunculi were involved I really wouldn't have gone alone, but it's just, it was such a great lead and, and," Ed struggled to continue.

"I'm sorry." He finished reluctantly.

Luckily for him Al decided to take mercy on his poor brother. With a haughty look he looked down upon his brother, "That's all right." he said, like he hadn't been pissed at the older Elric just moments earlier, "just make sure it doesn't happen again."

Ed felt relief washing over him for the second time in an hour. Glad Al had let him of the hook so easily.

"Yeah, sure." he agreed with his brother. "Next time, we'll go together."

"Even if I'm not there?" All asked, "You'll wait for me?"

"Yeah," Ed answered, "I'll wait, promise."

"Promise," Alphonse agreed and a small smile appeared on his lips.

Just then they heard the sounds of Winry returning from the hallway and the brothers looked at each other before bursting into laughter, glad everything was okay again.

* * *

Two hours later Ed was walking through central, alone. After a lot of fussing from his friend and brother he had finally managed to slip away to get some air. While he loved them both dearly, all the fussing was starting to get on his nerves and he needed some time to clear his mind. Passing through the busy streets of Central Ed made his way to the less inhabited part of town. Sighing softly as the quiet finally overtook his senses he walked on. not thinking of anything just walking and enjoying the peace for however long it lasted.

Ed was startled out of his peaceful daze by the sound a garbage can clattering to the ground in the alleyway he'd just passed. He Dismissed it as some animal causing a ruckus, but still he could not shake off the feeling something was wrong. He looked over his shoulder anxiously but could see nothing wrong.

Determined not to let it get to him, Ed continued walking. Even as he continued walking he couldn't shake the uneasiness that had taken place in his mind and slowly he sped up a bit, turning a corner and slowly making his way back to the main part of the city.

chancing another glance over his shoulder Ed stopped dead in his tracks. Blinking he rubbed his eyes and looked again, but there was nothing. Deciding he was probably imagining stuff he resolutely turned back forward and continued on. There was no way he'd really seen a flash of dark green hair disappearing around the corner, right?...right?

Ed hated how he was starting to doubt himself, but the longer he continued walking the more his unease grew. He could feel someone's gaze boring into the back of his head and it was seriously starting to freak him out.

Eventually he'd had enough. He was almost near the busy part of town again and he was really getting fed up with the stranger stalking him. Quickly, he thought up a plan and suddenly he turned the corner of a street he knew was a dead end. With bated breath he waited for his stalker to make an appearance, but after a minute he grew confused when nothing happened. perhaps he'd been imagining everything after all?

When he turned to make his way out of the alley though, his feet caught on something fuzzy and he tripped. looking up from his new spot on the ground Ed was surprised to see a kitten staring back at him with big, innocent, eyes. Ed could've sworn he saw an odd gleam in the kitten's golden orbs as they reflected the light but, before he could investigate further, the little cat licked it's paw and meowed questioningly at him and, when it didn't get an answer from the odd human sitting opposite it, turned around and strutted off.

* * *

Late that night Ed prepared himself for bed. It had been a long day and he had not yet fully recovered. As he fell asleep he could not help but let his mind wander back to earlier that day when the light had reflected from the kitten's eyes in the darkness of the alley. And for a moment, just a moment he remembered the violet gleam that had seemed to come over the cat's eyes. Before he could really ponder this though slumber had caught him in her deep embrace and Edward knew no more.

* * *

Slowly the window was lifted from the sill it had been resting on. The occupant of the room rolled over as a cold gust of wind hit his face from the now open window, but soon stilled once more. When they were sure the young alchemist was not going to wake, the stranger climbed into the room and sat down carefully on the bed. When they had once again assured themselves the slumbering Elric would not wake their appearance slowly started to change. Where the stranger had been sitting now lay an innocent looking black kitten. When the kitten turned its head the moonlight caught it's golden eyes and for a moment they lit up in the darkness.

A violet light in a world of black.


	4. The cat came back

**warning : there's some blood and gore in this chapter, so if you can't handle that/don't like that you might want to stop reading.**

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**Chapter 3 : The Cat Came Back**

"_But the cat came back, it wouldn't stay away, it was sitting on the porch the very next day."_

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It was one very disgruntled Edward Elric that woke up the next day. Why, you ask? Well it might have had something to do with the restless sleep from the last night or it might have just been because he'd apparently forgotten to close his curtains and now the sun was shining in his eyes, but what it really all came down to was the black cat curled up in his lap.

Not having noticed the extra weight on his chest the sleep-dazed alchemist had sat up only to be roughly have his consciousness cleared by the feel of 18 razor sharp claws digging into his flesh. Apparently the kitten wasn't really a morning person either.

After Ed had finally managed to pull the little monster and it's way too sharp to be normal claws away from his person, he'd promptly made his way to his, now conveniently, opened window and threw the damn thing out of it. Normally he might not have been so rough with the little thing but he really wasn't in that great a mood, besides a cat always lands on their feet anyway and else the beast probably still had some nine lives left anyways.

Feeling a lot better now that the stupid menace had finally been dealt with Ed cheerfully set about his morning routine, brushing his teeth, braiding his hair and pulling on his clothes, after he had dealt with the scratch marks his nighttime visitor had left him with.

Still in quite a good mood he made his way to the mess hall. He looked around and quickly spotted Al en Winry, who was staying for a while to make sure he didn't mess up his automail again, and made his way over. They talked a bit for a while about menial things. How were things in Risembool going? Had they seen Mustang's newest hole-through-his-hair-haircut? (Courtesy of lieutenant Hawkeye of course).

On and on it went, until midway through the meal Ed felt something brushing the pants of his flesh leg. Thinking he had just imagined things he continued talking and when nothing happened again he just brushed it off as Winry stretching her legs or something. Right at that moment the weird brushing feeling happened again, and again and again.

Not being able to ignore it now Ed looked under the table, ignoring the weird looks his friend and brother were sending him. What he found there made him cry out in dismay.

Startled Al en Winry chanced a look under the table as well, what they saw was nothing like what they expected. There staring up at them with wide purple eyes was a black kitten. The little animal was the picture of innocence as it shrunk in on itself at seeing the big scary humans looking at it. All in all there was only one word to describe it,

"KAWAII!" Winry yelled, immediately reaching out and grabbing the poor thing. "Oh look how cute he is." She gushed, holding the kitten out to Al so he could get a better look at the cat as well.

Alphonse felt a sweatdrop coming up when he saw the normally tomboyish mechanic acting like a little girl. He had to admit though, the kitty really was a cute one. It wouldn't be for long though if Winry kept choking the nine lives out of it like she was now.

"Ehm, Win?" He stated hesitatingly, "I think you're choking it."

Winry looked down on the little cat in her grasp and gasped as she saw she was, indeed, choking it. "Oh god, I'm so sorry." She said and immediately loosened her grip on the poor animal. That was all the kitten needed before hastily scrambling out of her arms.

"Wait!" Winry and Al scrambled after it, afraid the little thing would run away and get lost in the many hallways of Central headquarters.

They needn't have worried though because the cat immediately made its way over the prone form of the fullmetal alchemist, who still laid there from when he had scrambled out of his seat and away from the kitten that was now, once again, resting on his lap, purring contently.

This seemed to snap the small alchemist out of his stupor and he immediately righted himself, hissing when this caused him to once again become acquainted with the claws of the devil cat resting in his lap.

"Fuck! Get off of me, you devil cat!" He yelled out, trying to pull the cat of his lap once more. The cat however, would have none of that, and simply sunk it's way too long claws further into his flesh and Ed could've sworn he saw the cat smirk.

"Edward!" Winry yelled, obviously concerned for the poor kitty cat her friend was abusing. "Let go of that poor cat at once!"

"You tell this monster to let go of me!" Ed yelled back, still struggling with the 'poor cat' in his lap.

"Brother! It's not a monster! It's just scared." Al admonished and gently picked up the kitten. As soon as Al touched it the hissing monster turned into a perfectly innocent kitten once again and it looked up at Al with those big purple-gold orbs. Looking for all the world like the perfect picture of a sad and fluffy animal.

"Awww." Al and Winry immediately started cooing over the tiny black cat.

"See Ed? You just startled it, the poor thing." Winry said, playing with the soft pads of the kittens paws.

"Startled it? Startled it?! That thing is stalking me!" Obviously Ed was not as easily calmed as the cat.

"What do you mean, stalking you?" Al wondered.

"That's the same cat I saw yesterday when I was walking around Central." Ed stated, calming a bit now that it seemed that someone was finally listening to him. "And this morning when I woke up it was lying on my bed! I threw it out the window, but now it's back again! It must be stalking me!"

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Winry's screech could be heard all through Central and Al silently thanked the gods that the hall was empty, all of the former occupants having left the moment Winry first started yelling. They all knew how dangerous the mechanic could be when angered.

Ed noticing his mistake immediately started scrambling for an excuse, "but Win! The thing scratched me! And it's not like my window's that high up anyway! And, and-"

"Don't you but Win me! How could you do that to a cute little thing like this! I mean look at those eyes, isn't this just the cutest kitten you have ever seen." At the end she degraded into cooing once more and held out the poor cat to Ed.

Knowing better than not to listen Ed looked the cat in the eyes and suppressed a curse. The damn thing was laughing at him! Those odd purple-gold eyes had an enormously smug look in them and if a cat could smirk, well, this would be it.

"Well?" Winry asked him sweetly, "it's cute right?" When Ed didn't immediately answer her look turned more threatening, "I said, isn't that right, Ed?" She growled out.

"Yeah, it's real cute." Ed stammered out, suddenly a vindictive look took over his golden features, "a real angel."

"An angel! I like that, it'll be your name from now on." Winry said turning to the kitten. A kitten that was definitely giving Ed the evil eye now, not that anyone else noticed of course, Ed thought glumly.

"It fits." Alphonse said, "Can we keep it, nii-san?" he asked, trying out his very own kitty eyes on his grumbling brother.

"No." the answer was short, obviously Ed was trying very hard not to add more to that and get himself killed by the volatile mechanic.

"But it must be lonely, why else would it be following you around?" Alphonse turned the begging up a notch.

"I said NO Al. We're not keeping it."

"But brotheeer," Al whined, "we can't just put it back out on the street either, it'll die!"

Ed grumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'and that would be a problem, why?' but one glare from Winry and he shut up quickly. Looking between the glaring mechanic and his hopeful brother Ed finally relented,

"Oh fine, we'll find somewhere for the beast to stay, but we won't be keeping it."

"Okay." Al looked a bit down, but he knew they couldn't keep a pet so he wasn't too down about it. At least they would find little angel a nice home. "Thank you nii-san."

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine." Ed waved it off. "Now are you all done? I'd like to get this over with as soon as possible."

* * *

A couple hours later and they had finally found someone who wanted to take the cat in, and was actually allowed to do so by Al and Winry. Ed would've personally liked to put the little monster with the first person who'd agreed, but the other two insisted he go to the best person possible.

So, now, after two hours of dragging themselves through central they had finally found someone they all approved of.

The person in question was a young girl named Mia. Mia was seven years old and lived with her parents and younger brother Michael in one of the better parts of central. The parents had agreed to make sure the kitten would be well cared for and the children absolutely loved 'little angel' as the cat had come to be known.

The little angel itself though, seemed to be a bit reluctant to leave the three, and especially Ed, behind. But after lots of gentle coaching on the part of Mia and her parents and a couple fishsticks, finally relented.

A good riddance as far as Ed was concerned.

As they left behind the cozy house of Mia and her parents no one noticed the menacing look in Angels glowing eyes.

* * *

Mia crawled back frantically, coming to a violent stop as she finally hit the wall of the living room. Tears blurred her sight, but she was too scared to wipe them away. Afraid the monster in the room would notice her if she moved.

Casting a frightened look around the blood splattered room her eyes fell on the bodies of her parents and she couldn't suppress a scared whimper from leaving her throat.

In the ominous glow of the moonlight she could just make out the black void of her mother's hollow eye sockets staring back at her, blood still gurgling loudly from her slashed throat and seeping slowly from the gashes littering the rest of her body. The dark silhouette of her murderer still standing over her, watching.

Only when the last drop of the life giving liquid left her body did they turn to Mia. Slowly but surely they made their way over with an almost feline grace. The moonlight caught their eyes and they flashed a startling violet in the darkened room.

"A-angel?" Mia whispered, horrified.

The figure's lips tilted upwards in a mocking smirk and he shook his head, dark green tresses flowing with the movement.

The man stepped closer still and Mia clawed at the wall behind her, desperate to get some more space between her and the crazed madman before her.

"Angel," he said slowly, deliberately, "how I hate that name."

"There is only one angel in this world, little girl," the man came ever closer, voice lowering like he was telling her some secret, "and he's mine."

And with one clawed hand he ended her life.

* * *

**_AN/_** Hey everyone and welcome back! I hope the wait wasn't too long, but I've got another story up that takes precedence and school's being a bitch as well...So I was thinking I'd try and update this every other week that way I'll update this one one week and then changing the next. (though I'll try to update more often of course).

Anyway comments are always welcome of course (especially about that last scene, it's my first time trying something like that and I'd like to know what everyone thinks). and a big thank you to everyone who reviewed, faved and alerted! It's great to see people like this :)

See you next time! xXx~4ever


	5. Trouble is a Friend

**Warning : Blood/gore in this one, read with caution. **Also this will be the last time I'll put up the warning, from this point on you read at your own risk. I feel it spoils the chapter otherwise. If you really want a warning beforehand you can pm/review with the request and I'll send you a pm when I update if there's any gore. Enjoy the chapter! ~15

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**Chapter 4 : Trouble is a friend**

"_He's there in the dark, he's there in my heart. He waits in the wings, he's gotta play a part. Trouble is a friend, yeah trouble is a friend of mine."_

* * *

Three days after the hellcat incident (as Ed had privately began to call it) the Elric brothers were walking down a beaten pathway towards the small city of Meiore. Why you ask? Because that bastard colonel had said so of course.

Apparently some of the inhabitants had complained about unusual things occurring around the city and now one of them had finally gone missing. No longer able to ignore the complaints as superstitious nonsense now that a human life was at stake, the brass had ordered for someone to go and investigate.

When he'd heard of his new assignment the eldest Elric had not been pleased, after all paranoid citizens didn't really contribute to his search for the philosophers stone and he really didn't like wasting time. He needed to get their bodies back.

As a dog of the military Ed couldn't refuse the order though, so now he and his younger brother were trudging through the summer heat in a vain attempt to reach the city before nightfall.

It was not to be though, as a fair distance from the city still an odd sound suddenly reached their ears. It was Alphonse who first brought it to his brother's attention,

"Brother?" He questioned hesitatingly, "did you hear that?"

"What, Al?" Ed grumbled back, still unhappy about this new job.

"I don't know," Al paused and tilted his head, listening intently, " it's kinda like, like crying?"

Now curious Ed also stopped and focused on the sounds coming from the surroundings. Straining his ear he finally heard what Al was talking about. It, indeed, sounded like someone crying, or more like bawling their lungs out, he thought.

Seeing his brother looking at him hopefully Ed sighed before relenting, nothing could stop Al when he was like that anyway.

The crying sound was coming from a small patch of forest up ahead so the brothers slowly started making their way over. When they were about to enter the undergrowth Ed suddenly stopped as a sickly sweet, yet metallic smell assaulted his nose. It kind of smelt like…

"Blood." The word came out as a horrified whisper and a panicked feeling took over the small alchemist.

Al not having noticed his brother's sudden unease continued on, blissfully ignorant thanks to the somewhat lessened sense of smell being stuck in an armor gave him.

"Al, wait."

Alphonse however, did not hear his brother and continued on unawares to the danger lurking behind the trees,

"WAIT!" Ed's warning came just too late though, because Al had just wrestled himself through the thick foliage and taken a good look around himself, promptly wishing he hadn't.

Ed came to stand besides his brother and had to suppress a gag. The ground, the trees…the bodies, all were covered in a thick, crusty layer of blood. Ed felt something drip down on his head and shakily brought a hand up to his hair.

It came back red.

A deep feeling of revulsion came over the alchemist as he looked around the body littered clearing, yet he forced himself to take it all in. They had come here for a reason after all, somewhere in the bloody mess, someone still lived.

His eyes moved from the broken and wrecked wagon's to the ripped remains of the people on the ground and the innards dangling from broken tree branches. There was no sign of struggle anywhere and Ed shuddered to think of the kind of monster that could have possibly done this.

Finally his eyes focused on an upturned cart a ways away from the rest of the wreckage, he could've sworn he saw someone move in the shadows under the cart.

"Al, go back to the road." He said, emotionlessly. This was not the time for a breakdown.

"But brother, I, I can't just…leave you here." Alphonse protested weakly, his voice coming out a broken whisper.

Ed forced himself to look at his brother with a small, reassuring smile on his face, "I'll be fine, just go."

From the look on his brother's face his smile had turned out more like a grimace, but it served its purpose and with a jerky nod his little brother left.

Heaving a deep sigh and trying to calm his beating heart, Ed checked to make sure Al had really left and then took a careful step into the clearing. Hearing a sopping sound he looked down only to wince when he saw a puddle of muddy blood under his feet and decided not to do so anymore.

Slowly but surely he made his way to the other side of the clearing still wincing every time he stepped on a particularly wet piece of ground or heard a suspiciously loud snap that just couldn't belong to a branch.

Finally he had reached the upturned cart and slowly he crouched down, trying not to think of what covered the ground and thanking the gods his coat was red already.

"Hello?" He called out hesitatingly, "is someone there? We heard you crying and came to help…We won't hurt you."

A sniffle came out of the shadows and Ed knew he'd found the right place now.

"Promise?" A relatively young voice came from the darkness, but Ed could hear the wariness in it. Not that he could blame the boy, for a boy it was, he wouldn't be so trusting either if he'd just witnessed a massacre like this kid had.

"I promise." He affirmed and watched as a boy about Al's age came crawling from under the cart.

"Who are you?" he asked, distrust evident in his voice and clear for all to see in his startlingly golden-yellow eyes.

"My name is Edward Elric, I'm a state alchemist and like I said, I want to help you."

The boy seemed to think this over for a bit, trying very hard to keep his eyes on Edward and Edward alone, so as not to let them stray to the bodies haphazardly strewn about the clearing.

Finally it seemed like he had come to a decision because he gave a jerky nod of his head, before speaking,

"I'll go with you," He started hastily before hesitating and then continuing, "My name is Ivy."

Ed took in the boy's amber eyes and tear streaked face, noting the cuts and bruises that were slowly forming on his pale skin and taking in the blood matting his surprisingly light green colored hair. Honestly there was very little of the boy that was not covered in blood and as he moved his hand through his own hair he was soon reminded that the boy before him was not the only one with that particular problem.

Ivy just kept looking at Ed expectantly, golden orbs bright with hope and a desire to finally move away from his dead companions. All the alchemist could do though, was nod back silently and gesture for the boy to follow him through the foliage back to the road were Al was waiting at.

He didn't notice the way Ivy's eyes flashed a deep violet as soon as he turned his back, nor did he notice how the boy cast one last crazed look around the clearing, before his possessive gaze turned back to the unsuspecting alchemist in front of him. He also didn't see the way Ivy slowly brought one bloodstained digit to his mouth and lapped of the life-giving crimson substance with a satisfied smile. No, his Edo-chan didn't see a thing.

Just the way Envy liked it.

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**AN/: **OMG! you guys actually basically doubled the amount of reviews this story had :) ~happy~  
Anyway I'm happy you all liked last chapter, and specifically the gore in it, because as you may have guessed already things will progressively go darker from here on out. Not that there will be gore in every chapter suddenly (though I do like the reviews it gets), but it will still be there every now and then and I'd hate for people to be bothered by this. Also sorry for the shortish chapter but this just felt like the right place to end it, at least it's a fast update right? anyway please tell me what you think, your reviews are what keeps me going! xXx~64


	6. Baby you're mine

**Chapter 5 : Baby you're Mine**

_I want the world to know that,_

_Baby you're mine_

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Warily Ed walked down the beaten path to the city, at his right Alphonse looked just as grim and the boy they'd picked up, Ivy, had still not recovered from the horrific events of the past night and shuffled along silently to his left. It was no merry band of travelers that traveled the roads today.

What should have been an easy mission had turned into a complete nightmare as soon as they'd smelt the sickly scent of blood on the air and seen the red life coloring the earth in that clearing. Things hadn't been made much better when they'd finally gotten the chance to sit down, make camp and ask Ivy what had happened.

The sky had just begun to darken when they'd decided to stop for the day and everyone had silently gone about their tasks. Ed quickly transfiguring a sleeping bag for their unexpected companion and Al setting up a campfire with practiced ease. Ivy, for his part, had just sunken onto the ground and looked around himself with unseeing eyes, dead to the world.

After a quick and easy meal they'd all sat around the fire, staring into the flickering flames an uneasy silence draped like a blanket around them, before finally Ed couldn't handle it any longer and asked Ivy what had happened.

Said boy had looked up briefly, before turning dead eyes back to the flames and remaining silent for a long while. Just when Ed thought he might not answer at all he started speaking,

"We were headed to a city further south from here," he started, a tremble in his voice, "I'd just met them a little less than a week ago." Here he looked up to clarify, "I'm an orphan you see, and had been living on the streets. When the caravan passed by and saw how I'd been living they took me in, gave me a family, gave me a home." He trailed of a bit, obviously lost in the memories. "That was the happiest moment in my existence."

Now he paused a bit longer, and the boy's let him, seeing how hard this was for him. Ivy quickly wiped an arm over his glossy golden eyes and Al put a comforting, metal hand on his shoulder, silently giving his support.

"You don't need to continue if you don't want to." The youngest Elric said kindly, "we'd understand."

The boy shook his head however, "no, I need to do this." He said, quietly but firmly and Al nodded his understanding.

"So, I had been travelling with them for almost a week." Ivy repeated, voice a bit steadier now. "We had made camp in the, in that clearing." The boy did not need to clarify what clearing he meant and his companions grimaced at the reminder.

"Everything had been going well, we'd made a lot of progress and would soon be reaching our destination. Everyone was really happy…" He trailed off again, obviously dreading the next part if the look on his face was any indication.

"Then he came."

The pure horror on the boy's face and the all compassing terror in his eyes were undeniable and Al once more moved to stop him. A firm shake of the head from his brother however, stopped him. His eyes were telling him to let the boy continue and so Al sat back again hesitantly.

Ivy was so caught up in the memories that he'd not even noticed the brothers short exchange. He breathed in a deep, steadying breath and continued,

"It was just one man, one person destroyed everything."Unbelieving horror still colored his voice, "he just walked right up to the middle of the camp and when someone asked what he was doing he said : 'Me? I'm just here to play a little game.' The kids immediately cheered up when they heard that…they loved games."

Ivy's voice started trembling again, "one boy came running towards him and asked what game they'd be playing, but the man just laughed. He bent down and patted the boys head, 'Well little one,' he said, 'I'm playing a game of cat and mouse. I'm the cat…" He giggled then, like it was some inside joke of his, but no one got it, 'and you,' he finally continued, 'you all… are bait.'

"Then the killing started."

A deafening silence descended upon the campsite at the abrupt conclusion of the gruesome tale.

A silence that was eventually broken by the eldest Elric,

"That man," he started grimly, "what did he look like?"

"Brother!" Al looked horrified that his brother could be so insensitive.

"Quiet, Al." He ordered, not even glancing at his armored brother, "we need to know."

"It's okay, Al." Ivy interjected, "I don't mind." And he aimed a weak smile at the worried boy.

"He was kinda tall, taller than you at least." He began, gesturing towards Edward.

At this comment Al immediately grabbed his brother and clamped one armored hand over his mouth. At Ivy's weird look Al looked at him sheepishly,

"Ignore brother please, he's a bit sensitive about his height."

Seemingly deciding to follow Al's advice he shrugged and continued with his description,

"He also had really long hair, it was green, sort of like mine but a much darker shade and it was kept up with a bandana of sorts…His clothes were kinda odd to, a mini top and a skort I think it was?"

As the description started to slowly penetrate Ed's height enraged mind he stilled and a look of dread took over his features.

"His eyes…I don't think I'll ever be able to forget those eyes, a deep violet, like shards of amethyst piercing your very soul when he looked at you."

Ed gulped, he really didn't like where this was going,

"And a tattoo? Did he have a tattoo?" he asked.

'please say no, please say no, please say no.' He was begging on the inside now.

Ivy looked at him weirdly then, "yeah, I think so, on his leg I believe…How did you know?"

"Damnit." Ed couldn't stop the curse from leaving his lips.

"Brother," Al said hesitatingly, "if Envy's here then-"

"Yeah, I know." Ed interrupted his brother and raked a hand through his hair. "Things just got a whole lot more complicated."

The rest of the night had been spent informing the clueless Ivy about the homunculi and the brothers occupation as alchemists. They didn't tell him everything of course, but the boy had a right to know at least something and so they had explained.

When it came time to sleep Ivy had grabbed his sleeping bag and dragged it close to Edwards, stating he didn't want to be alone if he woke up in the middle of the night. Ed, of course, agreed.

* * *

And even now, while they walked, the boy remained close by his side. Arm and shoulder brushing his own, claiming his space in what Ed would have normally considered an almost possessive gesture, but knew to see as nothing more than a frightened young man seeking comfort. Knowing how hard it is to lose family, he allowed it.

When they finally reached the city it almost felt like a cloud had lifted from the exhausted party. The thought of real food, a nice hot shower and a warm bed temporarily wiping away all worries, for most of the party anyway. Ivy, contrary to the two Elrics, only seemed to shrink in on himself further, sticking even closer to Ed and glaring at anyone that tried to catch the small alchemists attention. Eventually Ed could no longer ignore it and turned to the glaring teen plastered to his side.

"It's okay you know? They won't hurt you, so there's no need to glare at them like that." He said, indicating the cringing people lining the streets that Ivy had been staring at just moments before.

"I'm sorry," The boy murmured contritely, glare softening considerably as he glanced down at Edward. "I just don't like the way they're all staring at us."

Ed's own look softened in understanding and he offered the other a small smile, "I know, just try and tone it down a bit, okay?"

Seemingly stunned all the other boy could do was nod, though he did try really hard to stop glaring so obviously, when Ed was watching at least.

Eventually they reached the town hall and after a brief conversation with the secretary, they were ushered in to speak with the major. Ivy had to wait in the meeting room since he wasn't really involved in the boys mission and after they'd been assured that, yes he'd be fine, the two Elrics finally stepped into the office.

Meanwhile Envy was staring bloody murder at the secretary that he felt had looked way to greedy at _his _alchemist. When they'd still been walking through the forest everything had been perfect. The alchemists had believed his little sob story and his Ochibi-chan had even allowed him to stick close to him, not even commenting on his possessive behavior.

When they'd entered this sorry excuse for a city however, people had started looking at his little chibi. Not that he could really blame them, he liked looking at his angel to after all, but the boy was _HIS _possesion. Not the giggling teenage girl on the corner's, not the man at the fruit stand's and most definitely not that blasted secretary's.

At least his chibi was thinking of him. He thought, trying to relax a little before he burnt a hole through the frightened secretary with his glare. He'd promised Ed he'd play nice after all.

He'd heard him murmur in his sleep last night, and while it had obviously not been a very pleasant dream, it had at least been a dream about him. And Envy was willing to take what he could get.

There's a fine line between love and hate after all…

And he'd make the chibi cross that line, even if he had to drag him over it.

Eventually, Ed would be his.

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**AN/ **aww poor Eddy, he's got a rough time ahead of him...

Anyway thank you all for reading and for the reviews, faves and alerts, they're a real motivation as you might have noticed from the increased update speed XD This was pretty annoying to write though, Envy is such a little drama queen and it's pretty hard to keep him IC while still having him apear all weak, sad and vulnerable...

also I do believe I've forgotten this the last couple of times sooo:

Disclaimer : I do not own Fullmetal alchemist (brotherhood), nor do I own the songs used for the chapter titles. They all belong to their rightful owners (artists, writers etc.)

See you next time! xXx~64


	7. Right here in my arms

**Chapter 6 : Right here in my arms**

_Stay with me, and you can dream forever, _

_Right here in my arms _

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Ed woke up feeling better than he had in days, he was warm and comfortable and he really didn't want to get up. Definitely not what he'd expected when he'd lain down on the bumpy mattress yesterday night. Now however there were no bumps to be felt, only the oddly soft yet hard contours of his slowly moving pillow and the sheets that were securely wrapped around him. Only…those didn't really feel like sheets and…did he just think his pillow moved? Startled a pair of sleepy golden eyes blinked open only to be met with the pale and leanly muscled expanse of his pillows chest. His pillow…which wasn't a pillow at all. Slowly Ed looked down at the 'sheets' that were so comfortably wrapped around him only to find, to his growing horror, that the sheets weren't sheets either, they were arms. Very nice arms, he observed objectively, but arms nonetheless. And those arms were _holding _him.

Breathing in deeply Ed tried to think about things logically. He was in a bed. With another person. In their arms. Sleeping on their chest. And he was so warm and comfortable and this person made a really good pillow and he wanted to-No! No, no, no , he was supposed to figure out how to get out of this situation, or how he even got in it for that matter, not return to sleeping no matter how wonderful that sounded to his sleep dazed mind.

Right at that moment the person shifted and pulled Ed a bit closer, murmuring something softly. Startled Ed looked up, he recognized that voice! And sure enough what greeted his eyes were soft, light green hair and the peacefully slumbering face of Ivy. Not that that made him feel a whole lot better, he still didn't know what had happened to have caused this, he was sure they hadn't- Ed halted that train of thought as an uncharacteristic blush took over his face and he unconsciously buried his face in the other boy's chest. He was acting ridiculous! For now it didn't matter what had happened, he needed to get out of this!

Carefully he reached a hand out and shook Ivy's shoulder, when this didn't have any effect he tried pulling out of the other boy's hold. The other's arms were like steel bands, if a whole lot more comfy, however, and he couldn't get them to move even an inch. Or an inch in the direction he wanted anyway, because as soon as he started pulling the other boy rolled over in his sleep and tightened his grip on the little alchemists waist. Now Ed was not only caught in his arms, but also stuck under the taller boy's weight, just great. At least he wasn't completely crushing him, for such a tall boy he weighed surprisingly little.

Ed shivered as he felt Ivy's warm breath ghost over his neck, close to his pulse point. The little hairs on the back of his neck raised as another shiver came over him. This had to stop, now.

Foregoing all caution Ed kicked out with his automail leg while simultaneously giving a hard push with his metal arm, still not at full strength of course he didn't want to hurt the boy after all, but enough that it should get him off of him. The grip on him tightened impossibly before it let go and Ivy fell of the small mattress. A small yelp came from the floor next to the bed and Ed chanced a glance over the side getting a glimpse at smoldering gold before he was once again pinned to the mattress.

Startled once more he stared at the pissed visage of Ivy and barely registered as a low growl came from the boy above him. He tried moving his arms only to find he was unable to and a quick glance up confirmed that the older boy was holding them down by the wrist. Another warning growl made him look up again and he was relieved to see a bit of clarity making its way into those golden eyes again.

The boys just remained like that for a moment, staring at each other, before Ivy finally managed to snap out of his sleep induced haze and snarled out, "why the hell did you throw me of the bed like that?"

Ed however, was not all too happy himself and it showed in his response, "why the hell were you even in my bed in the first place?"

Ivy glared down at him, "I couldn't sleep, nightmares." The response was short but Ed could see the hurt in his eyes when he mentioned his nightly terrors.

"Oh." He answered, as eloquent as only a just awoken person can be.

"Yes, oh." The other boy mimicked mockingly, "are you gonna tell me, why you threw me of the bed now?"

"Ehm," Ed flushed a little and looked away, missing the calculating gleam that appeared in the other's eyes, "I panicked." He finished lamely and tried to rub the back of his neck with his hand only to realize he was still trapped. He cleared his throat lightly and the blush darkened some more, "can you let me go now? My wrists are kinda starting to hurt."

Ivy looked surprised for a moment, before glancing down at where he still had the boys wrists in a tight grip and quickly let go.

"I'm sorry." He said, as he saw the alchemist rubbing his reddened flesh wrist, " I'm not really a morning person and you startled me."

"It's alright," Ed said with a grimace as he tried to get his circulation going again, the guy was a lot stronger than he looked, "I shouldn't have kicked you of."

"You shouldn't have," The other agreed and if Ed's hand didn't still hurt from the impromptu wrestling session he would have hit him for being a jerk. He was about to hit him anyway when the door flew open.

"Brother!" Alphonse worried voice came from the opened doorway, "I heard screaming what's going…on." Al finished lamely as he saw the position his brother and current traveling companion were in. If he could have the armor would have blushed a bright red. "Oh, ehm, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I mean I'm sorry, I'll just…" Al stammered out and before Ed could fully comprehend what had just happened the door was slammed shut once more and Al was gone.

Looking up at Ivy who was still seated on top of him, currently trying to keep in his laughter (and failing spectacularly), Ed realized what his brother thought had just happened and, for the second time that morning, Edward Elric, the fullmetal alchemist, panicked and blushed a bright red.

He hurriedly shoved a still laughing Ivy of his chest and this time the boy didn't even complain when he hit the ground, too busy trying to breath, too care.

With a wry look at the snickering boy on the ground he quickly transformed his pajama's into some more suitable outside apparel, before hurrying after his younger brother.

He had some explaining to do.

* * *

After a very awkward conversation and even more awkward breakfast during which Ivy kept making inappropriate comments just to see the looks on the brothers faces (which were hilarious by the way) the three finally left for the scene of the crime.

The mayor had given them the directions yesterday and explained what had happened. Apparently there had been animals disappearing for weeks now, but the citizens had just shrugged it off as some larger predator taking the poor things. They had tried to hunt for it but nothing had come of it and eventually they had just accepted that their pets might keep disappearing, though they had filed a complaint to Central Headquarters. Central had just dismissed the complaints, believing it to be some superstitious nonsense.

That had changed two weeks ago when finally a human had gone missing. The human in question had been a young boy, named Marco. Marco liked to play outdoors and stay out late, so it was a while before people noticed him missing. When they did though, all hell broke loose.

The mayor had managed to calm the panicking populace down a bit, but only a bit and many still stay indoors most of the time, believing they won't be taken if they did. The only reason so many of them had been outdoors yesterday was because of the weekly market, the only time the townsfolk still considered it to be safe outside, believing there to be safety in numbers.

That most of the citizens were locked inside became obvious as they traversed the empty streets. Sometimes they saw a head peek from behind drawn curtains but most of the time it felt like they were walking through a ghost town.

Now that they had left the safety of the inn they'd stayed at, Ivy had also become withdrawn once more and he stuck close to Ed. Ed knowing about his trauma just let it go, even if he was still feeling a bit annoyed because of that morning. Alphonse just walked silently by their sides, still refusing adamantly to look at them and murmuring something about it being 'too soon' when Ed asked why.

After an awkward half an hour walk they arrived at scene of the disappearance. It was a small street branching of from the main one about halfway. The buildings on either side were small, but cozy looking houses all with a small garden out front. According to the mayor Marco had been playing outside in just such a garden when he'd been taken.

Looking at the numbers of the houses Ed quickly found nr. 14 and walked over, Al and Ivy following his lead. The small alchemist took a deep, steadying breath and knocked once. Soon the door was opened and the tearstained visage of a middle aged woman came into view, Marco's mother.

Ed showed her his pocket watch and she stepped aside silently, allowing the odd group entrance into her home. Ed nodded his thanks and passed through, as did his companions, Al offering the woman a sympathetic smile.

In the hallway they were met by a man, obviously the woman's husband. He offered them a tight smile and led them to the living room. The woman disappeared into the kitchen, probably to clear the tearstains from her face.

Clearing his throat to try and dissolve the awkward silence that had fallen Ed figured they might as well get started,

"My name is Edward Elric, the fullmetal alchemist. I'm here to ask you some questions about the disappearance of your son."

"Thomas Coulson, and my wife and I will both be happy to give you any assistance you may require to get our son back." The man's voice was tired, worn down by the hard times he was going through, but there was an underlying strength to it, and Ed knew he wasn't lying when he said they'd do anything.

"Well then, could you tell us what happened?"

The man released a shuddering breath and nodded, steeling himself before beginning.

"Marco was playing in the garden when it happened. It was a normal evening, nothing special had happened lately and we felt confident he'd be safe as long as he remained near our home. Betha and I were sitting here and we could hear him play…Then he suddenly started talking to someone, thinking it was just one of the neighbors out for a stroll we ignored it, but suddenly he screamed," Thomas paused, obviously trying to gain some courage before continuing, "there was so much pain in that scream…"

The man took in a couple of deep, shuddering breaths,

"We rushed outside then, tried to find him. We looked everywhere! He was nowhere to be found though. At that point we panicked and woke up the whole neighborhood, asking if they had seen him, but no one knew what had happened…"

"Eventually we found some blood splatters near one of the bushes in the garden…and we feared for the worst….we still do." The man trailed of, having nothing left to say.

"Thank you," Alphonse said softly, "we know how hard this must have been for you, but we needed to know."

"I understand," Thomas nodded and swallowed heavily, seemingly thinking something over, "shall I show you?"

No one needed to ask what he wanted to show them.

"Please." Again it was Alphonse who spoke up and with another tense nod Thomas rose and beckoned for them to follow him.

Silently the group made their way outside again following the distraught father to a bush in the corner of the little garden. The man chanced one look down before paling and turning around, walking back inside with a hurriedly murmured, "I'll be inside if you need me."

Ed almost didn't notice though, he was kneeled near the little pool of dried crimson life, eyes focused on one nearly invisible irregularity near the middle. He reached out one trembling hand and picked it up, rubbing it between his gloved fingers to remove the blood, before holding it up to the light.

A shocked breath left his lips in a rush of air as he stared at the little red stone gleaming innocently back at him. A philosophers stone…

The homunculi were here.

Besides him Envy smiled.

* * *

An/ Hmm don't got a whole lot to say this time.I don't really like the second part, might redo that some time. Actually I just don't really like writing lengthy OC conversations. Maybe I should just kill em all off, would save me the trouble...and add some nice gore to the chapy., hmm yeah I might just do that...

Anyway thank you all for the reviews, faves, alerts and just for plain reading :) and till next time, xXx~64


	8. Please, please, please

**Chapter 7 : Please, please, please, let me get what I want**

* * *

_So please, please, please,_

_Let me, let me, let me,_

_Let me get what i want._

* * *

The flickering light of the broken lantern created dancing shadows on the walls of the otherwise dark alley. Huddled near a large dumpster stood two men. Both were shivering from the chilly midnight winds but while one was entirely shrunk in on himself, the other stood tall and proud. The smaller male looked around anxiously, flinching as the lantern threw another crooked shadow at their feet. Finally it seemed like he couldn't take it anymore and he turned to his stoic companion.

"L-lets go," he stammered out, though whether from the cold or his own anxiety was unknown, "it's obvious he won't show." The man tried to sound confident but his act was ruined by the way he kept looking around himself shiftily.

"No," the other man grunted out, obviously not fooled by his companions false bravery. "We'll stay here and wait."

"But Brutus, I got a bad feeling about this, that guys bad news. I'm sure!" The frightened man tried to convince the other male, now known as Brutus.

"Does it really matter? We need the money and you know it. Now shut up or leave, Mark, I won't care either way." Brutus didn't even glance at his friend as he said this, instead looking up at the starlit sky, the only light they had except for the broken streetlight.

Mark hesitated and glanced around once more, like he expected a monster to step from the shadows any moment. Eventually though, he just heaved a sigh and huddled in on himself some more. He would wait.

This all Envy witnessed with a small but manic grin creeping on his face. He stretched once more, happy to finally be able to walk around in his cute form once more and languidly stepped out of the shadow he'd been hiding in. The tall one had noticed him he saw, but the little mouse still hadn't and Envy gestured for Brutus to remain silent, he saw a small flicker of worry in Brutus eyes, followed by fear before the man nodded slowly, careful to make sure his companion didn't see a thing.

Envy grinned like the cat that caught the canary and crept over till he was standing just behind the boy. Abruptly he reached out and circled the startled boy with his arms, "Boo." He whispered, and that was all it took to turn the kid into a screaming mess. Envy cackled madly, before putting a hand over the young man's mouth. "Shush, shush now. I know you're happy to see me, but we wouldn't wanna wake up the neighbors, now would we?"

The kid stilled and Envy let go, watching with an ever growing smirk as he turned around. When he saw who he'd just been screaming at the kid paled drastically and almost unconsciously stepped closer to his partner. Envy just grinned at his reaction, reveling in the fear so clearly displayed on the kids face. Enough was enough though, he needed to get back before chibi woke up and he didn't want his little alchemist to figure things out just yet. He still had so much fun planned after all.

"Well then, let's get down to business shall we?"

* * *

Ed woke up the morning after finding the remains of the philosophers stone and was happy to find he was alone in his bed. He quickly got up and went about his morning routine. On his way to the small bathroom the inn provided he saw the other beds were empty and made. Thinking the others had probably gone down to breakfast already he shrugged and continued to hurriedly prepare for the day ahead. While normally Ed would take his sweet time getting ready today was different. After they'd found the proof the homunculi were involved with the disappearances happening around town Ed had immediately wanted to go and search for him. It had already been dark by then though, and the others had convinced him to wait. Ivy had looked dead on his feet after the rough day he'd had and Ed had finally caved after being subjected to his and Al's surprisingly convincing puppy dog stares. He did get their promise they would set out as soon as possible the following morning and the two had happily agreed.

Finally finished Ed walked down to the main part of the inn, his still damp hair dangling behind him in loose waves. Quickly he got some breakfast from the elderly lady managing the bar and made his way over to the others.

"Good morning brother." Al greeted him cheerfully. Ivy just looked up and nodded at him shyly, obviously still having some troubles with the many people surrounding them.

"Morning." Ed grunted back before starting to shovel his food into his mouth at a startling speed.

"Brother!" Al exclaimed, shocked. "Don't do that, it's rude."

Ed just shrugged and ignored him, finishing of his breakfast in record time.

Seeing the others were done as well, not that Al really ate being an armor and all, he stood up and headed to the door.

"Ed! Hey wait! Where are you going?" Al scrambled to get up and hurriedly followed after his older brother, Ivy doing the same besides him.

"We're going to the majors," Ed answered in a hushed voice as soon as they caught up with him, "I want a list of all the alchemists in this town and I want it _now_." The way he said it made it obvious there was no questioning him on this.

Al looked at his brother with concern something in his eyes reminded him of the time they'd lost their mother, that same determination was visible in those golden orbs now and Al hesitantly put an armored hand on his brothers shoulder.

"It'll be fine." He murmured softly so only they could hear. "We'll definitely save that boy, so don't worry."

Ed heaved a deep shuddering sigh before nodding, his tense shoulders relaxing somewhat. "I know Al, it's just… Those parents, it's like Nina all over again."

"I know brother, but you need to try and relax, you can't help anyone like this."

Ed nodded stiffly once and Al let go, feeling better now that he knew his brother would be all right.

Envy just watched it all with jealous eyes, but calmed himself. His chibi wasn't the only one who needed to stay calm for the upcoming events.

He eyed the two brothers once more and felt a small smirk tugging at his lips, yes only a little longer and he'd be able to drop this pathetic disguise, and then, then he'd finally get to _really_ play with his little alchemist again. Envys eyes flickered to their natural purple for a split second.

He could harldly wait.

* * *

In the end there appeared to live three alchemists in the town. One was a young woman named Sarah who helped out at the town hospital, using her powers to create medical supplies such as bandages and splints if they were ever needed. The others were two men, Brutus and Mark. Mark lived with Brutus as part of an apprentice ship and was the younger of the two. Brutus was a middle aged man who was held in high regard by the citizens, he specialized in combat oriented alchemy and had saved the village from bandits more than once.

None of them seemed likely to be the secret henchman of a crazed homunculi but the brothers had seen many fall to their deceptive charms and knew not to trust any of them. Until they found proof that they weren't working with the homunculi they were suspects and they'd be treated as such.

The three were now located in a shadowed alleyway near the town hall, trying to figure out what they would do, or more precisely who would get to do what.

"Let me come too!" Ivy whisper yelled at a stubborn Ed.

"No." The short alchemist seemed entirely unimpressed as he stared down the taller boy.

"But why not! Let me help!" Ivy seemed to be really upset and for once there was no fear in the boy's golden orbs only pure determination.

"Because it's dangerous. I won't risk another innocent getting hurt." Ed answered unwaveringly.

"Ivy…" Al interrupted carefully, trying not to upset the boy any further, "it might be best if you stayed at the inn while we take care of things. Brother is right, this really will be dangerous." He hesitated before continuing, "the man from the camp might even be there." He didn't need to explain what camp he meant, but instead of reacting frightened and backing down as Al had expected Ivy only seemed to grow more determined.

"I know that," he said softly looking down, "I know he might be there and..and it does scare me." Suddenly his head snapped back up and he leveled Ed with a glare, willing him with his eyes to understand. "But that's exactly why I need to go! I can't just sit by and watch as someone else goes through what happened to me! Please… please let me help!"

Al watched, stunned, as a lone tear fell from those golden eyes but the boy's hard gaze never once wavered. He couldn't help but to feel for him, this poor, orphan boy, who had finally found people who loved him only to have them ripped away again. And instead of sulking or growing bitter he still wanted to help others, even if it meant facing the one who took everything from him. Al looked once more at the glaring boy and made his decision.

"Brother?" He questioned softly.

Ed looked up from his stare down and glanced up at his armored brother. "What is it, Al?"

"I…I think we should let him come."

"What?" Ed sounded startled, obviously having expected his brother to be with him on this one.

"I think we should let him come with us." Al repeated. When he saw his brother was about to start protesting he held up his hand before continuing, "it's just, he has a point. And I'm not saying we should let him go alone or anything. There's two groups of alchemists right? He could just tag along with one of us and when it gets dangerous he can run. Ed looked like he was considering it so Al decided to give him another push. "Please brother?"

Ed looked decidedly unhappy but grunted nonetheless and Al had to hide a smile. Al : 1, Brother : 0.

The pissed off Ed turned back to Ivy who'd been watching the scene hopefully. "You'll run away when we say so?" He asked.

"Yes." Ivy nodded enthusiastically.

"And you'll do whatever we say?"

"Everything ." The boy confirmed.

Ed sighed and raked a hand through his hair, before nodding. "Fine, you're allowed to come, but you have to stay with one of us at _any _time and listen to everything we say, understood?"

Suddenly Ed doubled over with a grunt as a happy Ivy decided this was the right moment for a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The boy kept repeating and Ed just hugged him back awkwardly before wrestling himself away from the other. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." He grunted, "just don't come crying to me if anything happens."

Ivy just smiled contently and nodded.

He'd gotten what he wanted.

* * *

An/: Okay so not so much action in this one but it was needed. Next chappie will definitely be more interesting though...*grins evilly*  
And before anyone comments on it, no envy was not flirting with the kid at the beginning of the chapter, he justed wanted to freak him out. My dear (and hated) Envy may be many things but a cheater he is not. ( even if he doesn't technically have anything with Eddy yet). Sorry if that sounds a bit harsh but I really don't want people to misunderstand this...  
Anyways thank you all for your wonderful reviews, faves,alerts and putting up with my lazy ass. See ya all next time! ~4ever.

**To Sara D **(anonymous reviewer) : Thank you for your wonderful (and long/detailed)review(s)! Lol, I really feel like I'm killing of the fangirls here xD…Maybe I should start putting up a warning for that… I'm glad you like my version of him though. Envy's just such a wonderfully twisted character that I couldn't bring myself to change that about him. His insanity (for lack of a better word) is what makes him such a fun character to write and love ;)  
Also thanks for the advice, as you can see I have indeed changed the genre to horror. I'd been hesitating about what I should put as a secondary genre for a while, but couldn't make up my mind. I have now though ) Hope you liked this one as well, ~64


	9. Move

**Chapter 8 : Move**

* * *

_I've seen this all before,_

_I can't carry this anymore, _

_Break free…_

* * *

"You know the plan?" A gruff looking man asked his apprentice.

"Yes." The boy answered hesitatingly.

"Good. Then let's go." Brutus nodded and gestured to the door.

"It's show time."

And together the two left the building they'd been hiding in.

* * *

On a rooftop across the street two people immediately snapped to attention when they saw the men leave the building. Behind them the sky was already darkening and the barest outline of a silver sickle could be seen against the violet canvas of twilight. Ed and Ivy stood up and stretched, they'd been following the men since dawn and had been sitting on that same rooftop for a little over two hours now.

"Neh, Edo, where do you think they're going?" Ivy asked enthusiastically, a drastic change from his earlier demeanor and if he weren't so focused on the mission Ed might have grown suspicious.

"I don't know." Ed answered gruffly, obviously not in the best of moods. A mood that may or may not have been caused by his companions chipper and impatient behavior over the last couple of _hours_.

"Do you think they're really behind the disappearances? That little one looks like he wouldn't be able to hurt a fly, never mind a person." Ivy continued on curiously, oblivious to the alchemists mood.

"WHO ARE YOU CA-" Before Ed could even realize it Ivy had come up behind him and slapped a hand over his mouth. "shh, I wasn't even talking about you," Ivy said indignantly, though if Ed could have turned around he would have seen the spark of mischief in his eyes. "You should keep quiet you know? Else they might hear you." He finished in a lecturing tone..

Ed just bristled at the unfairness of it all. Here he was, being perfectly quiet and this chatterbox, a chatterbox that hadn't shut up _once _in the last _three hours_ might he add, was telling _him_ he should be silent. He knew he shouldn't have allowed him to stay.

Gently Envy let go of the infuriated Chibi. He knew he shouldn't be teasing him so much but he really couldn't help himself, Chibi was just so cute when he was angry. Besides the excitement was getting to him just a little longer and he'd finally be 'free'. He silently suppressed a cackle, oh if only Chibi knew how free he'd be.

Ed grumbled as he was gently lowered to the roof again, damn tall people. He was about to turn around and give Ivy the scolding of a lifetime when the kid tapped his shoulder.

"What?" He grunted.

All Ivy did in return was point over the alchemists shoulder, looking at where the green haired boy was pointing Ed cursed. The targets were getting away.

"C'mon." He said, softly this time, and climbed of the roof using a ladder he'd created earlier, Ivy following right behind.

Stealthily they made their way towards the targets. The two men, Mark and Brutus, were walking side by side, talking amicably. Ed gestured for Ivy to stay back and crept closer to the two males, trying to find out what they were talking about.

If he had expected anything interesting though, he would be sorely disappointed. The men had been ordered to act as innocently as possible, that way it'd be more fun when it was time for the 'surprise', or so they had been told anyways.

Finally the master and apprentice made their way into what seemed like an abandoned street and Ed and Ivy were forced to fall back, lest they be discovered. When the suspects made a sharp turn and disappeared into a dark alley to the left they slowly crept up to the mouth of the alley. The two looked at each other and gave a sharp nod before following the alchemists into the dark.

Only the dark suddenly wasn't so dark anymore. As soon as the two stepped foot into the alley a bright blue light flashed, followed shortly by another. Before Ed could recover from the temporary blindness the lights had caused a blunt object slammed into his side and threw him against the alleys wall. Ed slammed into the cold bricks and felt their rough exterior make some small cuts on his arms. He'd left his coat at the inn today because it would stand out too much, now he wished he'd worn it anyway. Looking up he finally saw their attackers and wasn't surprised when he identified them as the men they'd been trailing. The taller of the two, Brutus his mind supplied, was standing a ways off from him, holding a large and heavy looking hammer and was slowly making his way over.

His apprentice, Mark, was holding Ivy up against the wall by the neck, a small but deadly looking sword in his grasp. Ivy was struggling for all he was worth, biting and clawing at his opponent who seemed like he was having trouble keeping the boy still.

Ed was about to go over and help but was forced to stop so he could dodge a hammer strike from Brutus. Doing a quick back flip out of the way gave him the time he needed to clap his hands and soon his automail arm was sporting a shiny new blade. Seeing the older alchemist would not let him get to Ivy he sent a quick apologetic look to the other boy before charging at Brutus. He'd have to take care of him first.

Ed ran as fast as he can to the brute alchemist and swung his arm back, preparing to strike. The other alchemist was surprisingly fast though and managed to dodge his punch, countering quickly with a skull cracking blow of his hammer. Luckily for Ed he saw it coming, and he managed to transfigure a shield out of the lid of a nearby trashcan just in time. The weapon impacted the metal with a harsh clang and dented the now-useless shield, but it held. Seeing an opportunity Ed threw the shield at Brutus face to distract him then ducked low and made a swipe with his armored hand at his legs. Brutus though, just jumped back and let the shield fly over before performing a back flip and flipping over Eds swipe. The large man countered by bringing his leg down on the still crouching Ed but Ed managed to bring his arms up at the last minute and block the powerful strike. Thinking fast he brought his hand with the blade forward and created a large slash on the man's leg.

Brutus cursed and jumped back to evaluate the damage, giving Ed the opportunity to run over and help Ivy.

Ivy was still struggling but seemed like he would have to give up soon. The other boy had a tight hold on his neck and was chocking him. There were several cuts on his captors cheeks and arms and even what looked like a very large purple bite mark on his left underarm.

Ed came up from behind the unsuspecting boy and, thinking fast, kicked in his legs. A sickening crunch was heard and the kid fell to the ground screaming, clutching his now useless legs. Ed grabbed Ivy's hand and tried to pull the scared boy with him but he refused to move.

"C'mon Ivy, we don't have time for this." Ed tried to coach the pale boy into following him. Ivy just remained frozen though, focused on something behind Ed.

A feeling of trepidation took over Ed and he was about to turn around when he was slammed into a wall for the second time that day. The small alchemist sunk into a groaning heap at the bottom of yet another alley wall. But even though he hurt something fierce he still struggled to get back up again.

When he was finally standing however it was already too late. He looked up and could just make out the tall form of Brutus, the unconscious forms of Mark and Ivy slung over his shoulders as he limp-sprinted his way out of the alley.

Ed tried to run after them only to fall to the floor once more, instinctively pressing a hand to his broken ribs. "WAIT!" He roared out, Brutus just kept running however and he soon lost sight of them. "IVY! WAIT!"

Ed just stared on disbelievingly, he hadn't been able to save him. He'd lost another person. He'd failed again. Suddenly images started to flash before his eyes, his mothers smiling face and warped corpse. Alphonse as a child, when he was more than just a suit of armor and a soul. Nina as the innocent child she was and the chimera she'd become. The clearing they'd found Ivy at blood dripping from the trees and a scared boy covered in crimson. That same boy smiling and laughing now as he talked to Al. That boy, unconscious and being carried away from him, a lone tear sliding down a bruised cheek.

"DAMNIT!" He slammed his fist into the ground, "Damnit! Damnit! DAMNIT!" He kept hitting, not even noticing when the pavement started to crack under his metal fist. Eventually he had to stop though as the pain in his ribs became too much. He sat there for a while just staring out of blurry eyes. His anger was gone now, long since replaced with a feeling of pure hopelessness. The images of all the people he couldn't save mocking him, of all the people he had failed. If only he'd be a bit more powerful, if only he'd been a bit faster, if only he had had a bit more time to figure things out…Time!

Ed's eyes widened with the sudden realization, he still had time!

Wheezing he grabbed hold of the wall next to him and pulled himself up. As soon as he was standing he started to limp to the center and Alphonse as fast as he could.

Pure determination shone from his eyes as he continued limping, thinking of the boy that might not be lost yet.

_He would get him back,_

A burning golden glare flashed from the dark as he made his way into the light once more.

_And he would not fail again._

* * *

_(special Bloo edition ending)_

And then a really, _really _awesome horse that just screamed awesomeness (and possible you can tie up captives here target) with a nametag that said Sparkie came running by. The end. ;)

* * *

**An/** Hmm not really sure I'm happy with how this came out…oh well, it'll have to do for now since I don't really have much time to change it, (exams and such).

So who guessed Envy would kidnap himself? Poor Edo-chan, I think he finds this even worse than being kidnapped himself, which is why I did it…Well that and the fact Envy is a drama queen xD

**To Guest** : Don't worry, I don't mind ya guessed wrong, at least this way I know I'm not getting too predictable. And sorry for the extra suspense. Don't worry though, Vy-chan will get his fun next chapter ;) thanks for the review and hope you enjoyed, ~4ever

**To Sarah D** : Bite his ear off? That's hilarious XD Hmm maybe I put too much gore in this when people start thinking like that….*shrugs* nah, probably not. I'm definitely gonna put that in somewhere though… it's awesome XD Thanks for the review (and typo correction, old chappie's been replaced) and enjoy the (for you at least :P) super fast update ~4ever


	10. Attack

**Chapter 9 : Attack**

* * *

_A new day is coming, and I am finally free!_

* * *

After at least half an hour of limping Ed finally made his way to the more inhabited part of town again. The going had been slow and Ed cursed his injuries trying to push himself harder and harder even as he felt time slip away. Luckily for him an old woman had still been sitting on the veranda despite the late hour and had quickly called for her grandson, a young man, to help the poor stranger that was so obviously in need.

At first the two had wanted to bring Ed to the local hospital but Ed knew that would take too long, so instead he'd insisted they bring him back to his brother. When they'd still seemed to hesitate Ed had flashed his pocket watch and identified himself as a state alchemist on a mission. Reluctantly, and obviously trying to hide their surprise that such a 'young one' ,as Ed had heard the woman whisper, was already a dog of the state, the two had finally given in and the grandson had helped Ed to Al.

The armored alchemist had immediately come running up to them and taken his brother of the helpful man as soon as they entered the street the inn was located in. The poor boy had been worried sick and had been pacing the street up and down for over an hour now, when it became apparent his brother and Ivy were not coming to the meeting point. In true mother hen fashion he'd immediately started looking Ed over , growing worried at the bloody and bruised form of his older brother. So caught up in his worrying had he been that he hadn't even noticed Ivy's absence until Ed had finally managed to assure him that 'he was just fine, Al' and that they had 'bigger things to worry about'.

Startled Al had looked around only to notice that indeed, Ivy was missing. Getting the account of what happened from his brother he immediately started blaming himself, saying it was his fault and that if he hadn't insisted the boy would have still been with them. Ed was quick to snap him out of his daze though, telling him it was not his fault and that they may still have time to get him back. That had worked surprisingly well and now, after a quick visit to the female alchemist who specialized in medicine so they could get Ed patched up, the two were hastily making their way to the old and dilapidated mansion Brutus had apparently inherited from his parents along with their considerable debts, or so the townspeople said.

The mansion was located to the west of the inn on a large hill that overlooked the town. It's age old walls, as well as the humongous garden spoke of a forgotten splendor and if Ed didn't know any better he would have said it must have belonged to royalty once. Such was the appearance of the manor.

Silently the two walked down the winding cobblestone path leading up to the mansion, stepping over vines and carefully evading wayward twigs that had made the path their home. Coming to a stop at the large double doors that had once guarded the mansion from trespassers but now hung from their hinges sadly, the two shared a determined look before Ed nodded and they made their way inside. No words were needed.

The inside was quite a surprise to the two alchemists. While the outside had obviously been abandoned a long time ago, someone still seemed to at least have made an attempt at taking care of the inside. The entrance hall they now found themselves in was brightly lit, something that had been hidden from the outside by large, if a bit ratty, crimson curtains, and seemed relatively clean. Walking up the grand marble staircase the brothers found themselves with a choice, in front of them the hall split up into two corridors, one to their left which was brightly lit and another which was cloaked in darkness. Before coming they had agreed not to split up anymore as it had only brought trouble when they last did so. Now however it almost seemed like they didn't have a choice.

Luckily for them, if it could be called lucky, a loud scream came from the hallway to their left. "Ivy." Al whispered, horrified. Not sparing another moment the two quickly started sprinting down the corridor, no longer bothering with stealth at the sound of their friends cries.

After what could have been minutes but was in reality only a few seconds the screaming stopped, but still the brothers continued running. Following the flickering flames of the candelabras that illuminated their way. When they'd been running for about five minutes they finally came upon a large room that had probably served as a grand ballroom at some point. Greek columns lined the sides of the circular room and a part of the floor was raised higher than the rest, creating a small dais that once a band might have stood upon.

Neither of these was what caught the boys attention though. What did was the large alchemic circle located near the middle of the room, drawn in a suspicious red ink. Small animal corpses were thrown together in the far corner of the room and more of the suspicious red pooled beneath them. The siblings took all this in in mere seconds before their eyes finally remained focused on the middle of the alchemic circle, or more precisely the two children bound there.

One of them was a small boy, looking about four or five years of age, with brown hair and bright blue eyes. The other had hair the most peculiar shade of light green and startling golden eyes, the alchemists recognized immediately.

"Ivy!" They both yelled and immediately ran over to free him and the other kid, which Ed now realized was probably little Marco Coulson, the child that had gone missing a while ago.

The boys looked up at them with frightened eyes though Ivy soon realized who they were and the fear made place for relief. "Ed! Al!" he answered their calls and immediately started struggling against his bonds. Marco still looked quite scared at the new people, he couldn't be sure that they wouldn't hurt him like the other people that came after all, though the other boy seemed to like them well enough and he had been nice to Marco. Mind made up Marco offered a hesitant smile to the big one in armor that came to free him.

"Hi," Al said as he crouched down besides the bound child carefully. "My name is Alphonse, though you can call me Al and that's my big brother Ed. We're here to save you."

Marco's eyes lit up when he heard that, 'They were here to save them!' Then he thought everything over and his blue eyes clouded over a bit in thought.

"Al?" he asked hesitantly, not wanting to upset his savior.

"Yes Marco?" Al answered, curious as to what the boy would want.

"If he's the big brother," Marco began, his head tilted and childlike curiosity shining from his bright eyes, "then why's he so small?" He finished.

Al winced when he heard that before quickly looking at Ed, luckily his brother was so distracted talking with Ivy that he hadn't heard.

"Well," Al trailed off, not knowing how to explain without alerting the chibi-monster, "I'll tell you another time, let's escape first, okay?"

"Okay." The boy nodded and went back to watching Al trying to untangle the mass of knots that kept him bound and anchored to the floor. He'd have done it alchemically but he didn't dare draw a circle, lest it upset the bigger circle they were already standing in. His brother was trying to free Ivy the same way and if the curses he could hear were any indication he was having just about as much luck as Al himself was having. None.

Ed was just about to clap his hands anyway in frustration but was stopped as a knife came flying by. A knife he only narrowly avoided. Turning around he saw the alchemists that had attacked Ivy and him earlier that day.

"You." He growled out and glared at the two.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Mr. Elric." Brutus said, seemingly completely undeterred by the less than enthusiastic welcome. "That circle is highly unstable and it wouldn't do to set it off now, would it?"

Ed ignored the mocking words but did lower his hands slightly, he did not want to risk the boys. "Let them go."

"I'm afraid we can't do that." The man answered, mock regret in his voice. "Our boss wouldn't be pleased with us if we did."

"And who is your boss?" Ed asked.

"I'm afraid you'll have to figure that out for yourself. It wouldn't be fun if we told you, would it?"

"Then we'll just have to beat it out of you." Ed said before looking at Al and nodding to the smaller alchemist. "You take that one, this one's mine."

No more words were needed as both alchemists sprinted from the circle, Ed clapping his hands as soon as he passed the edge. Feeling the familiar weight of his automail blade he nodded to himself and looked at his opponent. "Now where were we?" He asked before sprinting at the taller man as fast as he could.

The other man just grinned and lifted the same war hammer he'd been using earlier that day and meeting him halfway. The two clashed and once more Ed could feel his arm give in under the power of the man's blow. Jumping away he quickly sidestepped another blow before going in for a jab himself. Brutus evaded the blow skillfully and used the opportunity to take a swing at Ed's unprotected back. Luckily for Ed he saw the blow coming and managed to roll away before it could connect.

Coming back upright he suppressed a wince at the pressure the action had put on his still hurting ribs, but ignored it in favor of dodging another skull cracking blow. Luckily for him Brutus was still hurting as well or else the decrease in speed his own injuries caused him would have been the end of him. As it was now the two were once more evenly matched.

Clapping his hands together Ed put them to the floor and concentrated. Not soon after pillars of stone started sprouting from the ground under Brutus and the man was forced to jump away to evade the stone columns, but not before one of them managed to clip his side. It was only a glancing blow but there was enough power behind it that it took the large man a minute to recover. Ed used this time to take a look at how Alphonse was faring.

Al was having a bit of trouble with his fight. His opponent had not given him any time to use alchemy so he was forced to rely on hand to hand combat only, while Mark wielded the same short sword he had earlier. Several cuts littered the armor but they were all shallow and none did any real damage, one of the pro's of being a walking armor Ed supposed. Mark had a couple of fresh cuts and a particularly nasty bruise on his cheek, though whether that was Al's doing or his own he did not know, he had given the kid a pretty hard blow to knock him out after all.

Ed was forced to stop his observations as Brutus finally recovered and came after him with a vengeance. The two exchanged blows for awhile, neither really getting the upper hand. That changed though when a flash of blue light suddenly came from their right and Brutus found he could not move anymore. Startled Ed jumped away and looked to the right only to see Al with his hands on an alchemic circle, an unconscious and bound Mark laying near him. Looking back at Brutus he saw he was covered up till his waist in stone, Al having managed to catch him while distracted. Brutus was not to be deterred though and was slamming his hammer on the stone trapping him, trying to break free.

Ed, thinking quickly, ran up to the trapped alchemist and, evading a vicious hammer blow, clapped his hands together before slamming them on the alchemists hammer. A blue light filled the room once more and the hammer twisted and turned until it stilled once more. Only it was not a hammer the alchemist was holding now, instead a pair of handcuffs now wound around his wrists keeping them together and preventing him from freeing himself.

Seeing the alchemist was now securely bound Ed walked around till he came to a stop behind him and, with a quick chop to the neck, knocked him out.

Panting Ed limped over to Al and the circle in the middle of the room. All the fighting had aggravated his wounds and it hurt just to breathe, let alone walk. They needed to get out of here though, and fast. His pain could wait.

Al seeing the trouble his brother was having trouble hurried over to help him. Putting one large, armored hand on his back he quickly checked his brother over for injuries, feeling incredibly relieved when it seemed there were no new, life threatening, injuries.

The two were about to turn around and walk over to Ivy and Mark when they heard something that made their blood freeze. Ed in particular couldn't help the chill that went down his spine when he heard a sickeningly familiar voice comment from where the boys were trapped.

Turning around slowly Ed felt horrified when he saw he had heard right, _he_ was here.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? If it isn't fullmetal Chibi-chan. How nice of you to stop by."

Ed paled drastically and Envy smirked, shaking of the remnants of the rope he'd been bound with, even as his hair darkened and golden eyes bled violet.

'_Free at last...'_

* * *

**An/** And tada! Envy reveals himself, finally. Poor Edo-chan. Next chapter will probably have some of vy-chans pov and reasoning for kidnapping himself and yes we will finally get the big confrontation everyone's been waiting for, till then you'll just have to make do with this ;) Okay no lengthy review reply's this time I'm afraid. I'm posting this in between studying for my exams and I don't really have time for 'em now, hope the update makes up for it though :) . Also it seems I forgot in previous chapters but a big thank you to everyone that faved, alerted and reviewed it's what keeps my lazy ass going ;) xXx~4ever


	11. Breath

**Chapter Ten : Breath**

* * *

_You take the breath right out of me._

_You left a hole where my heart should be._

_You got to fight just to make it through,_

_'cause I will be the death of you…_

* * *

People sprung aside hurriedly as a large bulky shape came running through the village streets. Yells of indignation followed him as he sprinted away, not even sparing the time to apologize. The large male seemed not to notice though as he sped past, a crumpled note clutched in his fist and a grave expression on his usually cheery face.

He had no time to lose.

* * *

Ed skidded over the once smooth floor of the former ballroom, coming to a stop when he slammed into one of the many Greek columns lining the sides. 'Fuck.' He thought, 'How the hell are we getting out of this?' And indeed, things did not look good for the little alchemist at the moment.

He cast a look around the room, wincing when his eyes fell on the mutilated armor that was his brother. The arms and legs had been ripped from the torso and the helmet was laying in a dented heap near its feet.

After Envy had revealed himself things had quickly turned sour for the Elric brothers. The tall homunculus had almost immediately made short work of Al, not giving the younger any time to draw a circle and, while Al was certainly stronger than the average human, he was no match for the pure physical power of an enraged homunculus.

Ed had tried to help of course, but Envy had brushed him of easily in his exhausted state, grabbing his outstretched automail and throwing him to the other side of the ballroom. When Ed had finally found the strength to stand again his brother was already ripped to shreds and Envy had calmly been making his way over.

As those cruel violet orbs had met his own golden ones in a heated glare the homunculus demeanor changed, gaining a predatory, almost _playful_ tone that chilled Ed to his very core.

Poor Marco had been left behind crying and begging to be released. Now all he could do was watch silently as Envy advanced once more on Ed, his throat had long gone hoarse and hurting from screaming too much, and struggle against the ropes holding him. Silent tears ran down his chubby cheeks and Ed found himself trying to give the kid a comforting smile. It felt more like a grimace though, no thanks to his dislocated jaw.

Still the child seemed to understand and calmed down some. Envy, startled by the sudden quiet, turned around and saw the boy looking at Ed with hopeful eyes. Slowly his eyes trailed back to Ed, who was still trying to give the child an encouraging smile, then back to Marco and back to Ed once more. And Ed froze. There was a new kind of fury in his gaze now, an all consuming, jealous _hatred _that Ed just couldn't place.

"Still smiling, Ochibi-chan?" He asked and once more started making his way to the prone alchemist with slow, languid steps, before coming to a stop at his side.

Ed watched, horrified, as Envy slowly lowered himself beside him and reached out one pale hand, tipping his head up so he could bore into him with those cruel, violet orbs.

"How sweet." He said, caressing his cheekbone with one slender finger.

Ed grimaced and tried to pull away, the smile long gone now, but the green haired homunculus just tightened his grip a little and delighted in the pain this caused his beloved victim.

"Now, now Chibi-chan, that's not very nice, is it? Where's that pretty smile gone to?"

Envy smiled sweetly but continued in a strangely serious tone, "Show it to me Ochibi-chan, smile for me."

There was a piercing look in those violet eyes and when Ed looked up and he almost got caught up in their intensity, completely overwhelmed by the many emotions he could see swirling in their amethyst depths.

Before he could really ponder their meaning he was pulled out of his daze by another harsh squeeze to his jaw.

"Hmm, maybe I played a bit too much with you." Envy pondered, taking in the dazed gold of his captives eyes.

"No matter," Envy quickly dismissed his own concerns and leant closer to his victims ear, "just smile for me Ed, smile and it will all be over soon." The last was said in a loving whisper and Ed almost wanted to believe him, wanted to believe that everything would be all right if only he smiled.

It wouldn't be though.

"Never." It was but a hoarse whisper but Envy still heard it and a malicious rage clouded those violet orbs.

"What did you just say?" He asked , softly, voice shaking with the effort of keeping his anger in check.

"I said," Ed coughed and he could taste blood, "I said never!" and with his last strength he spat the blood in Envy's face, watching in satisfaction as those cruel orbs widened in shock and something that almost looked like hurt, though Ed had to be imagining that.

Slowly, ever so slowly Envy stood up and with a disgusted grimace he wiped the blood of his face. He looked down at his bloodstained hand and his whole body started shaking. He remained like that for a minute before finally he started chuckling.

The dark chuckles spilled from the homunculus mouth and echoed across the large ballroom, frightening all that heard them. Envy just kept chuckling until finally he was laughing full out, a broken bitter sound Ed would have never imagined the homunculus capable of making.

"So that's how it is." Envy finally said after having calmed down some. He stepped away from the broken form on the floor and started making his way to the center again.

"You're such a hypocrite, know that Chibi?"

Envy turned back around and gestured to himself, before slowly morphing back to his Ivy form. "You had no problem smiling at me when I looked like this, no problem holding me, comforting me." His voice slowly grew more and more angry as he continued and changed back.

"So why not now huh? Why don't you want me now?"

Ed could only look on startled, worry starting to seep into his mind as the homunculus started to grow more and more upset before his very eyes. He didn't know what he'd done wrong. They were enemies right? The green haired homunculus always tried to make his life hell, so why did he suddenly act like he cared what Ed thought of him? Why?

"Do I disgust you? Does this form repulse you?!" Envy just kept on going, so caught up in his rage that he seemed oblivious to all around him, until finally his eyes found Ed's with a startling clarity.

"WHY WON"T YOU SMILE FOR ME?!" He finally snapped, a crazed gleam in his purple eyes. Then he just stood there, panting, waiting for a reaction.

Said reaction came from an unexpected direction though, when Marco let out a scared whimper. Distracted Ed looked over to the distraught child.

He shouldn't have.

Envy followed his gaze and when his eyes fell on the crying child they lit up with an unholy glee and his whole demeanor changed.

Slowly, predatorily he made his way to the boy and came to a stop by his side, resting one pale hand on the top of his head in a twisted imitation of a loving caress.

"But there are still people here that you'd smile for, aren't there Ed?" He said, voice soft and pensive.

Slowly he dragged his hand down Marco's face, leaving trails of blood behind to dry on salty cheeks.

"Why don't you comfort him Ed? Don't you want him to be happy?" Envy paused in his caress and turned to look at Ed. Ed however could only watch on, petrified as that pale hand finally came to rest on the boys throat.

"No?" Envy asked when it became obvious Ed was not going to answer. "Well then, let's put the poor dear out of his misery then hmm?"

A wicked smirk lit Envy's features and he let all pretense of calm go, showing the sadistic glee in his eyes. He watched delighted as realization finally hit the alchemist, hard. Trembling Ed climbed to his feet, ignoring the sharp sting of pain his broken bones caused him and started running, trying to reach them in time.

"NO!"

Envy just ignored his feeble protest and the hand that had been resting on the boys neck suddenly changed, becoming longer and sharper and with one last, mocking wink in Ed's direction he sliced it along the boys throat.

The poor child didn't even have the time to scream.

Ed didn't seem to notice though, he just kept running, ignoring Alphonse's worried calls for him to stop, only doing so when he reached the dying boy's side.

Envy let him, privately delighting in the death of another person who had dared to pull his chibi's attention away from him. He was about to comment but a sudden sound from the hallway interrupted him. Ed did not seem to notice, caught up in his grief as he was, but Envy knew what this meant. His playtime had come to an end.

With a frown he pulled away from the crying alchemist and turned away. No matter, everything was still going according to plan. He looked back at his Edward one last time before fading into the shadows.

'Just a few more should do,' he thought, 'just a few more of these deaths and you'll be mine.'

* * *

_Bloo's ending (or alternate chapter in this case) : Potvy_

_Ed turned around and there was…._

"_Envy?"_

_He looked a bit closer at the strange apparition in front of him._

"_Are you-Are you sitting in a flower pot?_

_Envy looked like he really wanted to refuse but reluctantly nodded his head._

"_Why?" Ed asked, desperately trying to keep in his laughter._

_Now Envy really looked like he wanted to murder something and Ed felt a bit worried, before getting distracted by this marvelous shade of red Envy was turning._

_Finally…_

"_Because- I'm sitting in this fucking pot because-"_

_"Yeah?"_

_Envy mumbled something quickly._

"_I'm sorry, what did you just say?"_

"_BECAUSE I'm GETTING IN CONTACT WITH MY ROOTS DAMN IT! MY FUCKING PALMTREE ROOTS!"_

_Ed looked around a bit hesitantly, feeling a bit uncomfortable with this new situation. This was not what he'd prepared for._

"_Well….ehm I guess we can do this some other time then. I'll leave you to it." And then he turned tail and ran as fast as he could, leaving behind one fuming and cursing Potvy._

~THE END~

_(sorry kinda lame I know, but I'd promised Potvy, so Potvy thou shallt receive :P)_

**An/** aaaand cut! Sorry for the long wait but I was having a bit of trouble with this one. I had the scene and everything all thought out but I just couldn't put it into words... I'm curious though, can anyone guess what Envy's planning by now? Also OMG we've almost got 50 reviews! 50…I love that number! ~Happy~ Thank you all for being such a great support :D ! now excuse me while Imma go dance a happy dance round the room ne? XD 'Till next time!

Also : This chapter was brought to you by my Geography teacher! Let's all thank the man for being the boring and unobservant man he is! makes his classes the perfect writing hour ;)

Anon replies :

**Sarah D** : Sorry, the other boy died….but look at it from the bright side! We all thought he was dead already anyway! That and it helps get Ed and Envy together, how? you'll just have to wait and see ;) Hope this was a nice end for the arc, but before this lil' puzzle gets completed we still have a long way to go ;) can't have Edo-dear give in too easily now, can we?


	12. Love Like Oxygen

**Chapter 11 : Love Like Oxygen**

* * *

_You're like oxygen, when I drink you in_

_I can't breathe you out_

_Inside this intense agony_

_Can't you see I'm dying away like this_

* * *

Slowly the alchemist blinked his eyes open only to immediately slam them shut again when he was blinded by a bright light. He waited a minute for the pounding headache to subside a bit before he warily tried squinting his eyes open again. The light still hurt but he was prepared this time and managed to keep them open. Slowly he looked around, growing more and more confused as he did so. He tried to sit up so he could get a better look at the unfamiliar surroundings but aborted the attempt with a strained hiss. His ribs and leg felt like they were on fire and his head was weighted down by what might as well have been a block cement, but in reality was only a plaster cast.

Slowly he could feel panic starting to creep in. He was in an unfamiliar room, he did not know how he'd gotten there and he was obviously hurt. What the hell had happened to him?!

He again tried to move, just his head this time, but found he couldn't. The heavy cast pressed down on his throat and he found he couldn't breathe. His breathing started to pick up and the sound of his ragged breaths filled the room but Ed couldn't hear it. He felt like he was suffocating, his heart beating heavily against the constricting plaster. He wanted to get out. He _needed _to get out.

Lack of oxygen made his vision start to grow dark around the edges, his flesh arm desperately scratching the plaster in an attempt to free himself. It was useless though. His vision grew darker and darker until finally he saw nothing at all. By the time the doctors finally came racing into his room and placed an oxygen mask over his face he had already blacked out again.

* * *

The next time he woke it was evening, at least he thought it was. The light hurt his eyes just a little bit less and the shadows in the room were just a bit deeper. His mind felt a lot clearer too and… He brought up a hand to touch his neck feeling relief flood his system when he noticed the cast was gone. Wary of his hurting bones he sat up and took a look around. Immediately his eyes fell on the lumpy outline of a battered armor slumped in a chair near his feet and Ed felt himself relax. Al would never let anything happen to him. He was safe.

A lot calmer now he let his eyes wander around the room, coming to the conclusion that it must be some kind of hospital room from all the white and the many beeping monitors that surrounded him, not to mention that sickly smell that seemed to haunt all hospitals no matter how hard they tried to cover it up.

It still bothered him that he didn't know how he'd ended up here though. Ed tried hard to think back but still came up with nothing. He could remember receiving a mission from mustang, something about disappearances in a city somewhere. He also remembered travelling to the city then something went wrong, there was blood and, and a boy. A boy with weird green hair and golden eyes so much like his own. Ivy, he remembered, that boy was Ivy. Those people that had been killed had been taking care of him but since they were dead Al and him had taken him in. He'd gone with them and they travelled to the city, only to hear a boy had now disappeared. There they'd gone to investigate the boys house only to find…something. Ed wasn't really sure what it had been, just that it had been important.

He raked his hand through his hair and let out a frustrated huff. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't remember and it pissed him off. He let out a few slow breaths and calmed down again, no matter he'd think of it soon enough.

He closed his eyes and tried to think back again. They'd found something and he'd been shocked, he knew that at least. Then, stalking the town's alchemists and something went wrong… Ivy!

Ed sat bolt upright as he remembered, something his sore muscles could not appreciate. He'd been kidnapped! They'd been stalking two of the town alchemists and they'd kidnapped him!

Frantically Ed looked around, breathing picking up again as he couldn't find the boy anywhere near. He remembered going to rescue him with Al so where was he?!

Slowly he started panicking when he noticed that the boy really was nowhere to be found. He swallowed hard as a new thought hit him, had they- had they failed? Is that why he was in the hospital now, why Al looked so beat up, had they tried to save him and…failed?

Try as he might he couldn't remember. It was like some kind of haze clouded his mind, blanking out the memories and making him forget. He needed to know though and he needed to know _now._

Slowly he moved over to the end of the bed, wincing as every move made liquid fire rush through his veins, and reached out a trembling hand to wake his brother. He needn't have bothered though, as soon as he moved forward Al shot up grabbing his brothers outstretched hand. When he saw Ed was awake Al let out an excited squeal and pulled his brother into a hug, careful not to stress any of his injuries.

"Nii-san! You're awake!"

Not expecting it Ed recoiled, and let out a startled curse when the action hurt his ribs.

"Al." He said, trying to catch his brothers attention.

Said brother was too busy holding him at arm's length and examining every inch (few as they may be) of his body for injuries.

"Alphonse!" Ed yelled this time, he really didn't have the time for this. He needed to know what had happened.

Luckily his brother heard him this time and calmed down somewhat, tilting his head questioningly as he looked up at his brother. "Yes?"

"Where's Ivy?" Ed asked, cutting immediately to the case. He observed with a growing dread as Al seemed to recoil at the question, his formerly happy expression morphing into a more serious one.

"You…You don't remember?" Al asked carefully.

"No, I don't." Ed felt panic set in as he saw his brothers face fall even further.

"Why ? What happened? Is he alright?" Al just shook his head regretfully and Ed was really panicking now. "Al, where is he?!"

Silence rang in the room after his last question, a thick suffocating silence and Ed suddenly wasn't so sure anymore whether he really wanted to hear the answer. Still he persevered and he asked again, tone serious and much calmer now. "Where is he, Al?"

The armor let out a slow shuddering breath and looked down at his gloved hands that were wringing anxiously in his lap.

"They did not tell me this could happen." He started slowly. "You were supposed to remember." He trailed off again and Ed was about to interfere when his younger brother held up a hand and stopped him.

"Brother," he said after another silently suffocating moment, "Ivy…Ivy is gone brother. Actually…he never existed." He glanced up then and the eldest Elric could see the sorrow in the youngest eyes.

"What, what do you mean he never existed?" He asked, a broken whisper as slowly he felt the haze on his mind start to lift at the edges, revealing a glimpse of cruel violet orbs, and even before his brother spoke again he knew.

"Envy."

And with that one word, that one name spat in a desperate whisper everything came back to him. The massacre and Ivy's, no Envy's description of the green haired homunculus that had slaughtered his camp. The small shard of philosophers stone they'd found at the missing boy's home and then their final confrontation and the final moments of an innocent boy, slaughtered because Ed couldn't save him.

Without him even noticing tears had started to make their way down his cheeks and silent sobs now wracked his small frame.

Al felt his heart break as he watched his brother break down and immediately gathered him in a gentle hug, rubbing his back and whispering comforting words in his ear.

Ed just sat there silently, letting it all happen as his mind kept replaying those last moments over and over in his head. Hearing the little boys desperate pleas and feeling helplessly trapped in his own body over and over and over again.

How long they sat there like that Ed wouldn't know but eventually the tears dried and they just sat there together, simply taking comfort in the others presence. A nurse stopped by and said visiting hours would be over in a few minutes and Al reluctantly untangled himself , standing up and promising he would visit again tomorrow. Ed didn't respond, he just nodded slightly and continued staring into space, a vacant expression dulling the otherwise bright gold of his eyes.

The nurse stopped by again and told Al it really was time to leave now, something he did with great reluctance but not before throwing another worried glance his brothers way.

* * *

It had been a week since Ed finally woke up again and not much had changed. Al still stopped by every day and Ed still stared at the wall with the same vacant expression. Even Colonel Mustang hadn't been able to get a rise out of the silent blonde when he'd visited and it was starting to worry people.

The doctors in the hospital just said he was in shock and that it would go away with time. Al wasn't so sure though. He'd seen his brother down plenty of times but never like this. Usually he'd fight his way through whatever was bothering him with a stubbornness that bordered on stupidity but now it was almost like he'd lost the will to live. Al knew he was blaming himself for what had happened, but no matter how many times he told him it wasn't his fault Ed still wouldn't listen. Honestly he was at his wits end, if something didn't change soon he didn't know what he'd do.

He cast one last glance in the darkened room of his brother before closing the door with a soft click.

He needed to think.

* * *

Perched on a branch near one particular window of Central's general hospital sat one, small, black kitten. Its violet eyes were intently focused on the patient behind the window, a small kitten frown marring its face as it saw the lackluster expression in the patients eyes.

'This won't do.' It thought to itself silently, 'this won't do at all.'

And with a feline grace the small kitten stretched and started to grow, changing shape until finally it was not a kitten, but a man perched on that branch.

The man smirked to himself and prepared to open the window.

"Time to pay Chibi a little visit."

* * *

**AN/** OMG! so late, I'm so so so sorry *bows down and begs for forgiveness* I'm a horrible person .

To atone for my sins I shallt now start a new segment called the life of Mary, Mary will be the first OC in this fic that survives for longer than 3 chapters so please give her all your support, she'll need it :P (and yes this is random, I blame stress xD)

_~Mary walked down the street. _TBC

Seems promising ne? anyways on to more serious stuffs, thank you all sooooo much for all the support/reviews/faves/alerts etc. We actually hit 60! omg, if it continues like this we might actually hit hundred! if people even still like this after me making them wait for a month that is *looks away embarrassed* but! next chappie will be up sooner! its a promise :P Also something entirely different, what do you all think of crossovers? Cause I think I have some pretty original Fma crossover ideas. Wouldn't start them till I finish this one of course but I'm curious :) sooo tell me what you think?

**Anon replies~**

to Sarah D. : Omo I'm so sorry for making you wait like that, and now again x.x I really am a bad person. Still I'm glad you liked it and that it's still a bit unpredictable :) I finally got the whole plot figured out and I think you're all gonna like it ;) it'll be fuuun~


	13. Whispers in the Dark

**Chapter 12 : Whispers in the dark**

* * *

_No! You'll never be alone_

_when darkness comes you know I'm never far_

_Hear my whispers in the dark_

* * *

Ed heard the window slide open softly and looked up, surprised. It was the first emotion he'd shown in days and had Al been there he would have surely been overjoyed. Ed did not feel a whole lot of joy though, as he watched the all too familiar silhouette climb over the sill and step into the light.

Actually, Ed wasn't even sure what he _did_ feel.

Sadness, anger…fear. All flashed through him in a split second, leaving him dazed and unable to do anything but stare as the figure made his way to the bed with slow, predatory steps.

He was snapped out of his daze by an obnoxiously cheery voice, "Hi there Chibi-chan, miss me?"  
Envy dropped down on the bed at his side unceremoniously, completely uncaring of the way this rattled Ed's wounded body.

The alchemist let out a pained hiss and tried to scoot away from the deranged homunculus. Envy noticed and looked down, tilting his head curiously as he took in the alchemists bruised jaw and banged up body, before sitting up straighter and snapping his fingers.

"Ah, that's right, you're hurt!" He exclaimed, a bright grin on his face. He peered down once more at the vexed alchemist before tutting softly. "You should be more careful Chibi, I won't always be there to protect you, you know."

Ed looked on in complete disbelief and indignation. His mouth opened and closed a couple of times, but no sound came out and Envy observed the alchemists reaction with silent glee, an amused glint dancing in his violet eyes. 'Any second now' he thought to himself happily, '3-2-1-'

"Envy.." Ed croaked out and the homunculus sat up straighter in anticipation.

"Yes?" He asked after a few minutes when it became apparent that Ed was not going to continue.

The wounded alchemist just sighed and looked at the older boy with dead eyes. "Just go away."

Envy frowned, this was not the reaction he'd wanted. He'd expected the alchemist to start ranting at him with his usual fire, wake up the whole hospital with his yelling, not…this.

He looked back at his chibi only to see that they younger wasn't even looking at him anymore. Instead Ed had turned to stare at the wall on the opposite side of the room, eyes vacant and unseeing.

The frown grew more pronounced. Envy did not like this, not at all. Still frowning he poked the alchemist in the side harshly, "but Eeeed," he whined, "I can't do that. I came all the way here to see you!" When this still didn't get a reaction out of the stoic alchemist Envy's tone turned more serious.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" Ed let out a sarcastic grunt and Envy let out a disappointed sigh, "fine then, if you're not happy to see me I can always go and visit someone else." And with that he hopped of the bed and started skipping to the door.

"See ya later, Chibi-chan!"

He rested his hand on the door and slowly slid it down to rest on the handle. His hand had just touched the cool metal when a hoarse voice suddenly called out to him and Envy had to suppress a grin, seems like he hadn't lost his touch completely after all.

"Wait."

Schooling his features into a perfectly innocent expression Envy turned around and tilted his head curiously. "Yes, Chibi-chan?"

He looked on with a grin as the little alchemist struggled with his words, mouth opening and closing indecisively. Deciding he could use a little extra push Envy turned to the door again, this time the response was immediate.

"I said wait!"

Ed yelled and Envy turned back around again.

"But you didn't tell me why." The homunculus reminded him with a pout and Ed felt like pulling his hair out in frustration. Here he was, the man that had haunted his every waking moment with his cruel deeds and who's face had turned every dream he'd had since their last meeting in a nightmare, in this whole world there was not a man Ed despised as much as him in that moment and yet he had the gall to waltz into his room and act like nothing was wrong?! To skip and smile and _pout_ like a child that didn't get to play with his favorite toy?

Ed closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself. It wouldn't do to attack him now. Not only were they in a hospital, a hospital full of defenseless people, but at the moment Ed _himself _was nothing more than one of those defenseless people. In his current state he could do nothing to stop the homunculus if he decided he wanted to go and 'play' with the other patients . Nothing at all. He was helpless once more just like- He quickly cut himself of before he could continue that train of thought. Now was not the right time for that.

Determined he opened his eyes again and glared at the deceptively childish homunculus. Even if he was helpless, even if there was nothing he could do to stop him, even if it meant 'playing' with the murderer in front of him, he would at least try.

'_I owe them that at least…'_ he thought, silently thinking back on all those people he had failed and that had found an end at the hands of the homunculus. Their faces threatened to drown him, currents of misery trying to pull him back into that helpless place once again. Ed wouldn't let them though. _'No more.' _He thought as he struggled his way back to the surface, _'No more.' _The words kept repeating themselves like a mantra in his head and with his resolve finally made he broke the surface.

'_No more.'_

Envy watched with satisfaction as a small spark was relit in the chibi's eyes. It was not much to look at, especially when compared to the raging fire that could normally be found there, but it was a start and a start was all Envy needed.

"You wanted to talk right?" The boy asked. "Then talk."

Envy moved back to the bed slowly, a happy grin still on his face as he retook his earlier spot on the bed.

Ed watched with trepidation as the homunculus settled himself on the covers, but said nothing.

An awkward silence settled over the two, at least to Ed it felt awkward. Envy was happily bouncing up and down on the mattress a bit , humming a little tune and looking around the hospital room curiously.

Eventually Envy got bored and decided to break the silence, "It's pretty boring around here, ne?"

Ed startled and shot upright despite his injuries, he shouldn't have. The movement strained his wounded body and he could have sworn he felt his ribs cracking again under their protective covering. His hand shot to his side with a loud, pain filled hiss in reflex as he tried to alleviate the pain somewhat. He closed his eyes and tried to slow his heavy breathing somewhat until suddenly he felt cold hands close around his arm and waist, his eyes shot back open again and he saw the somewhat concerned visage of Envy fill his face. Stunned, he watched as the homunculus helped him back down in a laying position again, being careful not to jostle his injuries any further.

After he was finally somewhat comfortable again he looked back up at the other again, staring at him as he tried to figure out what he was playing at. The homunculus just stared back at him silently, an eyebrow raised as if daring him to question his uncharacteristic actions. Of course, Ed couldn't resist.

"I thought you liked it when I was in pain?"

Envy looked surprised at the question at first but then a small smirk took over his face as he thought of a response.

"I like it better when you smile."

Now it was Ed's turn to be surprised as he looked at the homunculus with disbelief.

"No, you don't." He said indignantly, offended that the sin dared say something like that after everything he'd put him through.

"I do," the green haired boy smiled and amusement danced in his eyes as he gazed at the offended boy with…longing? Ed wasn't sure what it was that he saw reflected in those violet orbs but it freaked him out.

"You don't want to hear that though." He continued softly, sadly almost and Ed now firmly believed that the meds must have gone to his head, it was the only explanation for the homunculus weird behavior.

He was about to ask him what he was going on about, when suddenly one of those long, pale fingers made its way to his lips.

"Shh." Envy shushed him, still staring down at him with that same, obscure emotion in his eyes. He glanced out the window and took in the position of the moon.

"Another time, Chibi." He promised before getting up.

"Now, you should sleep."

And before Ed could protest he was gone once more, leaving behind an opened window and one, confused Edward Elric.

* * *

**An/ **Happy new year everyone! I hope you all had a great time on old years eve, I know I had :D anyways first update of the new year ^^ m not exactly sure it all came out right, this chapter really just wouldn't be written for some reason . Still it wouldn't have been written at all if not for the great support this story has been getting :D So a big thank you to all of you who reviewed, faved, alerted or just plain read, you're awesome! xX


	14. Headstrong

**Chapter 13 : Headstrong**

* * *

_Back off I'll take you on,_

_Headstrong to take on anyone_

* * *

Colonel Roy Mustang liked to think of himself as a respectful and brave man. He'd fought in the Ishbalan wars and survived, faced his own first lieutenant multiple times a day and lived to tell the tale and had been the subject of female wrath many a time. Yes, Roy Mustang truly was a brave man, therefore when the door of his office suddenly slammed open, surprising the poor colonel while in the midst of some very important 'paperwork' he did not startle, nor did he squeak, as his subordinates would mockingly tell him later. Instead he let out a manly grunt and turned to his door to see what hooligan, because there was no way any lovely lady would slam a door like that, dared interrupt his reading time.

Somehow he was not surprised to see his favorite midget, automail leg outstretched and half-clad in a hospital gown. At least he'd had the mind to put on some pants before barging into his office first Roy noted absently and thanked the gods for small blessings, a half naked fullmetal was not something he needed right now, a new door on the other hand…

Sighing he pinched the bridge of his nose with glove clad fingers, feeling a headache coming on, and finally looked down at the alchemist, making sure to tilt his head a bit more obviously than normal to emphasize the height difference, and addressed the wayward alchemist.

"Fullmetal, good to see you back on your short feet again."

The reaction was instantaneous, and completely according to plan of course.

"WHO'S SO SMALL A FLEA COULD WEAR THEIR SHOES?!"

Roy smirked and leaned back in his chair, enjoying the shorter alchemists misery. This was just what he needed after a day of hard work to relax.

Eventually he decided he'd had enough and put a stop to the ranting,

"So did you get kicked out of the hospital, Fullmetal? I thought I had at least another week before I'd have to put up with you again." The Colonel was quite pleased with himself, that didn't sound like he cared at all.

He watched as the little man grit his teeth and visibly tried to calm himself down, honestly if he continued like this he was just gonna end up right back in his hospital bed from the stress.

"They didn't kick me out." The boy finally grit out, "I left."

"And pray tell, why, exactly ,did you do that?" The Colonel made sure to use his most sarcastic voice, secretly dubbed his Elric voice, to make clear what he thought of his Major's most recent actions.

"I just can't stay there anymore. I need to do something, anything."

The frustration in his voice was evident and Mustang couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy. He'd heard what had happened on his last mission and knew how it had effected Ed. He'd seen for himself what the boy had been reduced to after he first woke up and it had not been a pretty sight.

Roy still remembered how relieved everyone had been when the Shortstack alchemist had woken up one morning and seemed entirely changed, what exactly had brought about the change they did not know, but he did know they, he himself included, were all eternally grateful to whatever had brought the little spitfire back to his normal, non-vegetablelike state. There was just something horribly wrong about seeing the usually so lively alchemist moping so unresponsive, and honestly Roy had missed messing with the younger alchemist. Something about seeing the Elric's pissed off face just made his day.

But, while it was nice to see the alchemist so lively again, he really didn't think this was a smart thing to do.

"I don't think you need to be doing anything right now, Major Elric, except for marching back to your hospital bed, that is."

Roy stapled his hands together on the desk and leaned forward as he watched the little alchemist try and keep his cool, to great his surprise he actually succeeded.

"I can't do that." Edward finally said, and one look at his uncharacteristically serious face, uncharacteristically so when faced with Roy at least, told the man he would not have an easy time convincing him otherwise. The Colonel wouldn't give up without a fight though.

"And why ever not? Those little legs not able to carry you anymore?"

Roy almost hoped the other would start on another short-rant and forget about his plans, but when the other just stared back at him with a knowing glint in his eyes ,he knew he'd lost.

"You know why I can't. You know what happened on that last mission. I can't just sit by and let things like that happen again. Every moment that I'm lying there another life could be lost. I need to be out there. I need to do something!"

Roy almost let out another embarrassing squeak when an automail hand slammed down on the polished wood of his desk, leaving behind a sizeable dent in the gleaming wood. Hawkeye was not gonna be pleased about that.

Instead of giving into his, admittedly embarrassing, instincts he looked straight back into the others glaring eyes and returned the glare with one of his own.

"And what if I don't want you to do anything?" He asked slowly, dangerously, but he knew it wouldn't affect the other. The kid had a stubborn streak the size of Amestris and there was no convincing him otherwise once he had his sights on something.

"Then I'll go myself. I can't just stay here and let anyone else die. I _need _to do something."

"People might die anyways." The Colonel said softly, looking away.

"Then at least I'll know I have tried."

The Colonel sighed and massaged his temples tiredly, trying to think of some relatively safe mission to send the Elric on. Preferably something that would take him awhile to complete.

"Very well then," he finally relented, "there've been reports of a small village to the east getting attacked by bandits. Some of them have been rumored to use some rather…interesting alchemy. Seems like it'll be right up your alley."

Roy quickly made his way over to one of the many filing cabinets that lined his office's walls and pulled out a small brown envelope.

"The rest is in the file. Now go."

He tossed the envelope at his subordinate haphazardly and watched as the younger alchemist snatched it out of the air dexterously, looking it over once before nodding and turning to leave.

"Oh and fullmetal, try and stay in one piece for once, will you? The military really can't afford to keep wasting our money on those hospital bills of yours."

The door slammed close before he could hear the others reply, he didn't really mind though, the muffled swearwords from the other side told him enough.

He leaned back in his chair once more and put his feet up on his desk, it had already been ruined by the Fullmetal-midget anyways.

* * *

In a small city to the east a woman reclined in the shade of a tree. She watched with a small, pleased smile as a young boy played around in front of her. Her smile grew as she saw the boy pick up a small stone and look it over before he seemed to come to some kind of decision and clapped his hands.

A small, bright blue flash of lightning lit up the surroundings and when he opened his hands again a small flower lay in the place where the rock had once been.

The boy smiled and skipped over to the tree the woman was leaning against, presenting her with his creation.

The woman smiled at the boy and patted his head soothingly, thanking him for the flower before pushing him lightly and urging him to go play again.

The boy nodded and skipped back to the field to start looking for another stone or twig he could play with, a proud look now coloring his innocent features.

Back at the tree the woman was still looking down at the little purple flower the boy had made for her. Slowly, one by one, she started to pluck the petals from the stem, watching with interest as they drifted to the ground. Right before the first petal could touch the ground she moved her hand, far faster than any normal human could.

When it became visible again the petals had stopped moving, hanging unnaturally still in mid air, the only thing keeping them in place a pair of impossibly long and sharp nails.

The woman smiled once more at the now ruined flower petals, before flicking her wrist, retracting her nails and turning back to the clearing.

_This boy would do just fine._

* * *

**AN/** Annyeonghaseyo and welcome back to Smfm :D I know its been a while but school once again interfered . I had a bunch of exams and this really important paper to write, so I didn't really have the time to write :( Still, the new chappie's finally out now and I hope you all liked it. Not a whole lot of Ed or Envy in this chapter but that'll pick up again next chapter. for now you'll all just have to make do with Roy (who I've decided I love) and 'mystery' woman (not like everybody doesn't know who she is already, but at least you don;t really know what I got planned yet...right?). Anyways a big thank you to all the reviewers, faves and alerts, it really means a lot to me to know people enjoy this^^ Well (hopefully) Till next chapter and see ya then! xXx


	15. Chokehold

**Chapter 14 : Chokehold**

* * *

_I keep running away, running away,_

_Running away from you_

_But I can't stand breaking the chains_

* * *

Envy stalked into his room in the homunculi hide out, slamming the doors behind him and grinning complacently when he heard a pained yelp followed by a loud thud. 'That would teach the little brat.'

Thinking he might finally have some peace and quiet now, something which was hard to find at the HQ, he dropped down on his bed and closed his eyes, trying to restrain his raging temper.

It was no use though, because the second he felt himself begin to relax again a loud bang sounded through the room as his poor, abused doors once more bounced off the walls. Tensing up Envy suppressed an angered growl when he heard light footsteps skip their way across the floor and to the bed.

Not wanting to deal with the little nuisance and knowing Sloth would have his head if he really hurt her 'precious baby' Envy just grabbed the pillow and tugged it over his head.

Wrath however chose to completely ignore Envy's apparent wish for privacy and came to a halt near the foot of Envy's bed, all the while still incessantly singing that oh so annoying, 'I know something you don't know, I know something you don't know.' Which he'd become ever so found of after Envy's return.

Envy though, managed to restrain himself, and when it become apparent that he wouldn't react Wrath pouted and fell silent. For a moment Envy though he might actually be in luck and the boy would leave, but then he felt it. That brat was poking his leg!

Growling silently Envy restrained himself once more, knowing that if he didn't react the brat would probably grow bored quickly and leave a lot sooner if he didn't.

Slowly though the poking started to grow more and more incessant and finally the homunculus had had enough.

"WRATH!" he yelled and jumped up from his lying position, teeth bared and purple eyes flashing, arms outstretched to capture the little menace. Said boy let out a startled yelp before falling back for the second time that day, narrowly missing being captured by the enraged homunculus' reaching arms. Quickly he scrambled till a stand again and turned tail, fleeing the room as fast as possible.

Envy wouldn't let him get away so easily though, not after the hours of pure torture the kid had put him through. Growling he stalked after him, calling in a singsong tone as he went, "Oh Wraaaathhh, where are you going? I thought you wanted to _play_?" The last was snarled so fiercely though that the boy only ran harder, rounding the corner before Envy could stop him.

Snarling angrily at losing sight of his target Envy sped up and rounded the corner himself, only to come to a sudden stop when he found Sloth blocking his way. Behind her stood Wrath, grinning cheekily up at him and, temporarily forgetting the angry female blocking his path, Envy lunged.

It was not to be though, and soon he was reminded of Sloth's presence when a harsh stream of water hit him right in the face. Spluttering he tried to defend himself, clawing at the offending liquid as if that might protect him from it, but when that didn't work he relented and stood back. Soon after the water stopped and Envy glared balefully at Sloth once it did, wiping his face with his hands in an attempt to dry it off a bit and moving his dripping hair away from his eyes.

Sloth watched it all indifferently, but her crossed arms and the less than pleased glint in her normally so lethargic eyes betrayed her true feelings.

"Envy." She greeted him, a steely edge to her normally expressionless voice. "What do you think you are doing?"

"Sloth." Envy hissed back, looking for all intents and purposes like an angry, drenched cat with his hackles raised. "Your brat," he threw another hate filled glare at the boy hiding behind her who promptly yelped and clung tighter to his 'mommies' dress in response before continuing, "thought it would be funny to annoy me."

Sloth sighed quietly and patted Wrath's hair comfortingly before turning back to the enraged homunculus, completely missing the smug look on her baby's face as he stuck his tongue out at Envy as soon as her back was turned.

Envy, however, saw perfectly fine and with another angry growl he attempted to lunge once more. Unfortunately for him Sloth still had no intentions of letting him near her child and within seconds he was spluttering again as a larger stream of water struck his face.

This time though he was determined not to let it get to him and he continued to struggle, reaching out through the water. His fingertips barely brushed Wrath's hair before the water pressure suddenly increased and he was slammed back into the wall, before the stream receded. Grunting he peeled himself of the bricks and turned to glare at Sloth, spitting out some water as he did so.

Sloth just stared back emotionlessly and behind her Wrath was still grinning, watching the proceedings with interest and barely veiled glee.

Things continued like that for a few tense minutes but eventually Envy relented, deciding that getting back at the kid really wasn't worth all the trouble of a pissed of Sloth, nevermind an angry Dante. He could always get to him later when he wasn't hiding behind an angry female. Finally he turned back in the direction of his room and stalked off, before he could round the corner however Sloth called out to him and he paused, "Where are you going?"

Envy had to try hard not to attack her again, that was none of her business. "I'm off to see Chibi."

He glanced back at her over his shoulder and saw an odd expression flash over her emotionless features but it was gone before he could identify what it was.

"Just remember what Dante said, stay away from the east." She remarked, and Envy grunted once more in dubious agreement before continuing on his way to his room.

Once he was out of sight Wrath finally came out of his hiding place and, curiously, he looked up at Sloth. "Think he'll listen?" He asked and Sloth remained silent for a little bit before patting his hair and walking off.

"We'll see."

* * *

Crackling flames shone their light on the deep circles under Ed's eyes. His flat gold eyes caught the light but not even the fire's light could bring out any light from their depths. It was the third night since they'd left Central and the third night in a row that he was going without sleep.

He shifted a bit on the log he was sitting on, moving closer to the fire and trying to will some warmth back into sleep numbed limbs. It was no use though and he let out a soft sigh, making sure not to wake his brother. Alphonse was quite worried about him, understandably so after what had happened on their last mission, but the worrying could get a little overbearing, not that he'd ever tell his brother so. He wouldn't want him to feel bad about it.

The darkening circles under his eyes did nothing to ease his brother's fear but Ed could not help it. He just couldn't sleep. Back in Central he'd had the same problem but less serious. For the most part he'd been able to suppress the thoughts and memories of their last mission and sneak in a few hours of sleep so no one would worry, but now, back on the road, those memories were closer to the surface than ever, and there was no way he could make them go away.

It weren't even the nightmares that really bothered Ed. Sure, he'd still wake up screaming every time he saw that little boy's desperate face, saw the terror in his eyes as the homunculus slit his throat, and he had to realize over and over that there was nothing he could do. But after having seen it so many times he'd eventually gotten a bit desensitized over it, there were only so many times you could see something before growing accustomed to it, even if it was just a little bit and, sadly enough, this was not the first time he'd ever seen such a scene. If he could survive with his sanity intact after witnessing his mother's mutilated corpse then he would survive the death of this boy, if with difficulty. Besides that he'd come to terms with what happened and vowed to make sure things like that would never happen again, and he planned to keep that vow. No more innocents would suffer for his incompetence.

No, what really bothered Ed were the dreams.

Dreams of mirthful golden eyes, of another boy holding on to him tightly for protection, smiling at him, joking with him. Dreams in which he wanted nothing more than to protect the other, only for those eyes to turn a deep violet and betrayal to shoot through his chest. Dreams of the boy he had unknowingly gotten so attached to only to find out the other was his worst enemy.

Roughly he shook his head, golden tresses flying past his face and almost touching the flames. He shouldn't think of him like that! Envy had played with him, betrayed him, all those moments meant nothing! The little boy he had wanted to protect had never existed from the start and Ed would do well to remember that.

When Alphonse shook his shoulder softly an hour later to take the watch from him, Ed nodded slowly, sleepily and trudged over to the other side of the fire where his sleeping bag was located. He laid down and made sure his back was to the flames so Al wouldn't notice him staying awake.

As he closed his eyes, he was just so tired, he could not help but to think back to that one time at the inn when he'd woken to the other holding him, the warmth and the comfort he had felt back then, and without even realizing he drifted off, sleeping deeply for the first time in days, to the feeling of phantom arms holding him close and the image of deep purple eyes watching over him.

* * *

**An/ **Hey and welcome back again! I hope you all liked the little scene with Envy at the beginning, I know he's been gone for a bit, but i hope this makes up for it. Regardless, from now on we'll be seeing a whole lot more of him again in the coming chapters, and also some more Ed/Envy interaction which this one, sadly, still lacks. We did get a little insight in our poor chibi's tormented psych though so that should last you all a bit ;) anyways let me know what you think and what could improve, I love the response this story is getting, it makes my day to know people enjoy this little idea of mine ^^ So yeah, thank you all for faving, alerting and reviewing! xx

oh and just a little **note**, I'm thinking of starting up another story after this one, I already have an idea and all and I was just wondering, who would you like to see Al paired with? It can be anyone honestly, homunculi, alchemist, male/female it doesn't matter. Just tell me your preference please? It would really help, thanks :)


	16. Almost Easy

**Chapter 15 : Almost Easy**

* * *

_I feel insane every single time_

_I'm asked to compromise_

_Cause I'm afraid and stuck in my ways_

_And that's the way it stays_

* * *

When Ed woke up that morning he felt a distinct sense of déjà vu. He was warm he noted and comfortable, much to comfortable for him to be laying in his sleeping bag in the middle of nowhere. Why then, did he feel so safe?

He opened his eyes blearily and blinked them a few times, trying to get the sleep out of them. When that didn't work he tried to raise his arm to rub the blurriness away, only to find that he couldn't. His arm was trapped under another long pale limb that held him closely to its chest. Feeling a sinking dread settle in his stomach Ed followed the limb up to an equally pale and familiar shoulder before slowly moving his gaze to the beings head. Long green hair tickled his face and he was greeted with the familiar face of Envy, the homunculus seemingly fast asleep, and Ed freaked.

Violently Ed recoiled and pushed him away, the homunculus landing on the ground with a dull thud. Ed tried to scramble up but was constricted in his sleeping bag, fumbling with the zipper he didn't notice the pissed of homunculus waking up next to him, glaring around him before sleep fuddled eyes settled on the target of their annoyance.

Ed finally managed to free himself of the bag, moving to stand up when he was slammed, none too gently, back onto his now opened sleeping bag. The thin material did nothing to soften the blow and he grunted as all the air was knocked out of him and he saw stars. When his vision returned he was greeted with the sight of one maniac homunculus sitting on his stomach, blearily he tried to push him off again only for the homunculus to tighten the grip on his wrists and Ed noticed he was pinned to the ground once again. This time though, his adversary was awake and he did not look pleased.

"Well a good morning to you too, Ochibi-chan." He grumbled, moving Ed's wrists to one hand and using the now free appendage to rub his eyes and try to flatten his hair a bit. Ed tried not to gape at the odd sight but couldn't quite manage. There was just something about seeing your evil nemesis fixing a pretty bad case of bed head that messed with your mind. Still he managed to regain enough coherency to ask one, important question,

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

Envy sighed, obviously still half asleep before looking down on his captive with a mocking smile. "What did you think I was doing?" He grumbled, " I was _trying _to sleep, because,believe it or not that's actually pretty hard to do when sharing your evil lair with about 6 psycho's."

Ed looked at the sleep drunk homunculus in disbelief. "What?"

"Well you have a little brother, you should know how it is." The Envy said, as if that answered everything, and maybe in his current condition it actually did.

Shaking his head in disbelief Ed tried to think of a way out of his current situation, he was completely trapped and even in his sleepy state the homunculus still seemed perfectly capable of overpowering him. Ed knew he should be scared, terrified even, after the things he'd been through with the other. By all means he should have reverted to that soulless wreck he was not too long ago, but somehow he found he couldn't. He'd promised himself never to be that helpless again and he was planning to keep that promise, no matter who stood in his way.

That, and there was just something…odd about the other that Ed couldn't quite put his finger on. Something about those brief flashes of emotion he'd sometimes see in the others violet eyes that made him curious about the other. Ed knew it was dangerous but he wanted to know more about him and what had made him the way he was, even if just a little bit. He'd rather he didn't have to deal with him at all though, but still, the curiosity remained.

Still, he was not crazy and he knew the others visit could not mean much good, for him and his brother at least.

Deciding to push aside his musings for a better moment Ed focused back on the matter at hand, namely trying to convince Envy to let him go and getting out of this alive. Looking back up he saw that the green haired boy was staring intently at him, almost trying to look through him and he suppressed a shiver, seems like someone had woken up.

"Envy," He started speaking softly, seriously so as not to aggravate the unpredictable homunculus and tried to ignore the way the homunculus attention immediately shifted to his mouth when he did so. "What are you really doing here?"

The others eyes flicked back to Ed's own golden ones and for a second Ed saw it again, that undeterminable flash of emotion but when he tried to identify it, it was gone again, hidden away in violet depths.

So caught up in his analysis of the other was Ed that he almost didn't notice Envy had started speaking again.

"Awwww, I'm hurt Chibi," the homunculus cooed out, placing his free hand over his heart and jutting his lower lip out for emphasizes. "Is it so hard to believe that I missed you?"

Ed just looked at him in complete disbelief and eventually the homunculus gave up, huffing out an indignant 'fine then', before sitting back, letting go of Ed's wrists as he did so.

For a moment Ed considered pushing the homunculus of again but then he looked up and saw Envy's narrow eyed gaze, daring him to try. Deciding it might be a good idea not to piss of the homunculus before even knowing what he was up to, he just sighed and rubbed his flesh wrist, trying to get the blood flowing again where the other had gripped it much too tightly.

Envy remained silent for a bit, stubbornly keeping quiet, until he couldn't anymore and then he spoke up again.

"The other homunculi are planning something and they won't tell me what it is." He huffed out, obviously insulted. "Sooo…" He trailed off, looking at Ed expectantly.

"So what?" The alchemist asked, impatiently. He was getting really sick of these games.

"Soooo, here I am!" Envy finished, looking mightily pleased with himself.

Ed did everything he could to suppress a groan when he heard the other's answer and saw the mischievous look in his eyes. He did _so_ not want to deal with this.

"Go away." He said instead, figuring he could at least give it a try.

That was the wrong thing to say though, because he immediately found himself pinned to the ground again, the homunculus's eyes flashing dangerously.

"Now Eddy, we've been over this before." He started, voice dark and threatening. "If _you_ won't play with me I'll just go and find _someone_ _else_." He leaned back a bit and Ed saw the fire in his eyes turn mocking. "And we both know what you think of that, now, don't we?" He finished there but Ed could still feel the threat lingering in the air, turning it heavy and oppressive. They both knew what the homunculus meant when he said 'play'.

Subtly he glanced over to Alphonse, trying to think of a way to get free. Envy saw though and from the expression on his face and the sudden tightening of the grip on his wrists that hadn't been the smartest thing to do.

"Uh-uh-uh, bad Chibi, You know that little brother of yours is no match for me." He mocked, " 'sides we wouldn't want him to get hurt, hmm?"

At that Ed jerked his gaze back to Envy's mocking orbs and when he saw the sadistic light dancing there he'd had enough. This was going to stop, _now_.

"I won't let you." He stated, dead serious and looked up into the homunculus' eyes defiantly, his own orbs flashing.

Envy's gaze flashed in return, only he looked amused now, a manic kind of pleasure that would have sent lesser men running for the hills. Ed was in no position to run however, and he wasn't planning to either.

"You can't beat me, Chibi. You know you can't." Envy said, voice oozing confidence.

"Won't stop me from trying." Ed answered, unfazed.

Envy just laughed though, a deep, dark chuckle and leaned closer, emphasizing their current position.

Ed turned his head to the side, uncomfortable with the sudden close proximity and the way he could feel the homunculus' warm breath on his cheek. "You don't scare me."

It slipped out and Ed already regretted it the minute it left his mouth. It sounded incredibly weak to him. Somehow though it seemed to have the desired effect and Envy reared back as if he'd been struck. His grip loosened and this time Ed didn't even think twice about it before pushing the other off, hard.

The homunculus hit the dirt with a loud smack and that seemed to snap him out of his daze, because within seconds he was back on his feet. He just stood there though, staring at Ed with a mixture of complete disbelief and some other emotions Ed couldn't put his finger on.

Eventually he seemed to somewhat regain his bearings and spoke, voice whisper soft and full of disbelief, "You…..you're not?" It was just a simple question and Ed could have simply said an offhanded no and left it at that, but somehow he knew that this was important. That there was something here that required more than a flimsy, uncaring no, even if he didn't know why.

And so he looked the other straight in the eyes as he answered, willing him to believe him when he confirmed his earlier statement, "I'm not." Still a simple answer, but the sincerity with which it was spoken made all the difference to Envy, even if Ed didn't know that.

The green haired boy reeled back once more, clearly surprised, and had to take a minute to compose himself. Ed watched, waiting, instinctively knowing that now was not the moment to attack the other, and instead let him regain his bearings.

Finally Envy looked up again and Ed was shocked by the intensity of his violet eyes, they seemed darker somehow, but somehow they were still less threatening than usual, like something had changed in the homunculus in that one moment. Envy opened his mouth to speak and Ed leaned in unconsciously, knowing that this would be important and that he wouldn't want to miss it.

Then out of the blue they heard a loud yawning sound and the spell was broken. Envy shut his mouth with an audible snap and both turned to look at the awakening Alphonse. Alphonse turned to look at them as well and his eyes widened when he saw the homunculus.

From the corners of his eyes Ed saw Envy's expression change and he knew the moment was over, he tried to call out to Al but it was already too late, Envy had already regained his senses and was now holding his little brother, Al's arms wrenched behind his back, his usual cruel smirk returning full force.

Ed shot up as well and ran over to the two, trying to punch the homunculus, but Envy just moved back, smiling grimly all the while even as he dragged Al's heavy armor along with him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Chibi." He said, holding up one of his arms and showing the long, needle like point he'd changed it in, before knocking of Al's helm with his elbow and moving the point until it was hovering right over his seal. "I think we both know what happens when I do this." He threatened and moved the needle closer to the metal, teasingly tracing small circles just around the edges, carving out small furrows in the metal as he did so.

Ed jolted to a halt and somewhere to the side Alphonse's helm let out a distraught whimper.

Envy locked eyes with Ed and smiled maliciously, carving a deeper furrow next to all the others, this time piercing the metal completely and creating a hole in the armor.

"Stop it!" Ed called out, no longer able to stand watching his brother getting hurt. "Let him go!"

Envy paused in his carving, looking thoughtful for a minute before shrugging and looking back at Ed, "Nope." He smiled blithely and continued his carving. "You see," he continued, adding a small cut for every word he said, "You might not be scared of _me_, but that does not mean you're not scared of _anything_." He made a sharp cut to emphasize his last words. "I happen to think you're _very_ scared right now."

Envy moved his hand away and checked his artwork over, seemingly pleased with himself he moved his hand back, now resting on the back of Al's seal and Ed could see the ouroboros now carved into the metal.

The homunculus looked up again and locked eyes with Ed meaningfully, appearing as if he were waiting for something, and with a sinking feeling of dread Ed realized exactly what it was.

"What do you want?" He asked, tiredly.

Envy nodded, pleased and smiled grimly. "Let's make a deal Chibi-chan." He said, "_I'll_ let go of the tin can here," he gestured to Al's limp body, "and _you_ will let me come with you."

Finishing Envy looked at the alchemist expectantly, but Ed could do nothing but gape at him. He wanted what?

Apparently he was taking too long because Envy let out a loud, weary sigh before turning to the brothers again. "I promise I won't hurt you." he grumbled out, obviously reluctant, though whether that was because he had to include Al in the deal or because he had to promise at all Ed couldn't say.

Still he was not exactly sure about this. Helplessly he looked around but deep inside he already knew there was no way out of it. He'd have to take the deal. That didn't mean he couldn't try and make the best of this though.

"And how am I supposed to know you'll keep your promise?" He asked, putting all his distrust in the sentence.

Envy looked up in thought, obviously not having thought that through, before shrugging and looking back at Ed again, an infuriatingly uncaring little smirk on his face. "I guess you won't." He finally said, "Still beats me poking a hole through your little brothers seal right now though."

Ed closed his eyes and sighed, they both knew the homunculus was right. He tried to look at it positively , at least this way they could keep an eye on the other, and he would know that he wasn't out there slaughtering innocents, that had to count for something right?

Opening his eyes again he walked over to the pair, not hesitating at all as he gripped Envy's pointed appendage and pulled it away from his brother. The homunculus let him, sensing his surrender and smiled victoriously at him.

"Fine then." Ed grumbled out, "but you better find your own bed."

The homunculus looked at him, surprised for a moment, before bursting out in laughter and letting go of Alphonse. He wiped a couple of stray tears from his eyes. Chuckling even as Ed walked over to his brother's head and fixed the armor, vanishing any trace of the cuts Envy had given him.

"We'll see, Chibi. We'll see."

* * *

AN/ Okay that's over 2500 words of pure Edvy interaction right there, now love me cuz it's 1 am? Pm? Anyways 1 in the morning and I'm fricking tired but this just wouldn't leave me alone . If this has a lot of spelling/grammar mistakes please tell me and I'll fix em tomorrow. For now I'll just post this though, who knows it might actually be okay ;) anyways a big thank you for all of you who faved, reviewed, alerted, read etc. you really make my day all of you :D

On another note; I HAVE A NEW EDVY STORY! ^^ it's called A Fullmetal Faerietale, and I love it ^^ This one will still be my primary focus though, so don't worry about that, but I'd love it if you could check it out and maybe give me some feedback? (yes shameless self advertisement, its one am, let me XD). But yeah, its kinda got the same feel as Smile for me, so you might like it…just a suggestion though ;)

See ya next time! xXx-Mai


	17. Out of Darkness

**Chapter 16 : Out of Darkness**

* * *

_Listen to my voice, pulling you out of darkness._

* * *

Al watched his brother wearily, trying to figure out what he should do. At first this 'mission' had been meant as a relaxing trip for the two so Ed could recover. His brother still needed rest, even if he didn't like it, but was much too stubborn to stay in bed all day. Al, and Mustang as well, both knew this and thus they'd come up with a plan to give Ed a nice, relaxing mission.

Mustang would create a fake mission file with some mentions of strange alchemy, something sure to attract his brothers attention, and Al would make sure to keep Ed 'busy' during their holiday and to make it so he wouldn't suspect anything. The perfect plan.

But as they said, 'the best laid plans of mice and men, often go astray' and with the unexpected, not to mention entirely unwanted, arrival of Envy all Al's carefully crafted plans had flown out the window.

Now, Ed was more tense than ever and Al couldn't say he didn't understand his brother either. The appearance of a homunculus never meant anything good for the brothers and this one in particular had a habit of hurting Ed. Hell, he was the reason Ed needed a vacation in the first place!

He cast a wary glance at the disguised homunculus who was skipping ahead happily. Envy had changed his appearance again and Al couldn't say his brother and he hadn't been surprised when they saw the form he'd chosen. Envy now looked like a normal 17 year old boy, he'd kept his height a bit taller than Ed, though nowhere near Al's impressive height, and had turned his hair an unassuming mousy brown color , even his eyes were a muddy brown color as opposed to the vibrant purple he usually preferred, all in all he really did look…. average.

When he'd seen their looks the homunculus had just shrugged and said that 'There was something he wanted to find out and he couldn't stand out too much if he wanted to' before turning to Ed and starting to tease him about how he must prefer his 'cute' form. Needless to say Ed had not been amused and remained grumpy even now. Al sighed quietly they really didn't need this right now.

The trio had been travelling for three days now, three very tense and uncomfortable days, and were scheduled to arrive at their destination later that day. Their destination, a small but very bright town named Himura was known for its relaxing, almost resort-like, atmosphere and its onsen that were said to have healing properties. At first the plan had been to get Ed in one of those onsens but now Al wasn't too sure anymore, he really didn't like the looks he saw Envy giving his brother sometimes, they seemed almost…possessive.

Besides the occasional teasing remark directed at Ed the homunculus had mostly kept to himself though, something the brothers were extremely grateful for, but Al couldn't shake of the feeling that Envy was planning something and so he'd resolved to keep an extra close watch over the wayward homunculus, not that Ed wasn't doing that already. His brother had remained tense ever since the other's arrival and was even now shooting Envy unhappy looks.

The dark bags under his eyes had only deepened because he wouldn't sleep, even after Envy had decided to sleep somewhere else because 'little kids need their beauty sleep so they'll grow and Chibi-chan really shouldn't be missing out on his'. If Al didn't know better he'd almost say the homunculus was worried about his brother.

Al looked back to the road and was relieved to see the first houses of the town coming into view. Just like in the folders Mustang had shown him the village had a bright atmosphere. Little kids were running around holding kites and playing tag, their parents watching proudly from a distance or chatting together on the veranda's of their houses. In the distance he could see the steam rising from behind a large wooden building and he guessed that was where the onsen was at. Immediately he felt some of the tension leave him, maybe their plan would work after all.

Meanwhile Ed was still glaring at Envy balefully when he suddenly heard noise up ahead, curious he dared to remove his gaze from the homunculus for just a second to see what was going on. He was startled when he saw the sight that greeted him. In front of him was a nice little town, filled with cheery people talking and laughing with each other. He looked to the side of the road and saw a sign with the words 'Welcome to Himura, resort of the east' written on it in neat, flowing cursive. It really did seem like this was their destination. But if it was, then why was everybody so happy? This did not look like a village that was being terrorized by bandits, far from it actually, the people here seemed like they had not a care in the world!

Ed was about to turn to Al and demand an explanation, when his eyes fell on an old woman, sitting all by herself on a rocking chair in a shady part of the veranda of one of the houses. He thought it was a bit odd that she was sitting there all by herself , but was about to disregard it as just an old woman wanting some privacy when the woman lifted her head and locked gazes with him.

Ed staggered. Those eyes… there, between all the wrinkles a pair of sharp gray eyes looked up at him with such sorrow and longing that Ed felt a stab going through his heart. She scanned his face quickly before moving that heavy gaze of hers to the rest of his companions searchingly, it didn't seem like she found what she was looking for though, and disappointment flashed through her eyes before it was covered back up again with that sorrowful stare and she went back to watching the children.

The others had paused now too and were looking at him questioningly, or at least Al was. Envy was looking in the same direction, a thoughtful look on his now plain features, before he shrugged it off and turned to the brothers.

"Well," He drawled, "I have some stuff to look into. See you later Chibi!" and before either of the brothers could react he ran off. Cursing Ed immediately sprinted after him, but it was no use, the other had already disappeared in the masses and no matter where he looked, he couldn't find him.

He pushed a hand back through his hair with an annoyed sigh, still trying to find the homunculus but knew it was useless, the other had probably shifted appearances already and there was no way Ed would find him if he had.

Al who'd come running after his brother softly shook his shoulder to get his attention and Ed looked up at him, only to see Al looking worriedly at him. Al motioned to the people surrounding them and Ed saw they were all giving them curious looks, "Let's go." The armored boy muttered softly, so only Ed could hear him, and Ed nodded, starting to make his way down the street and in the direction of what he assumed must be the town centre.

As soon as they'd left behind the group of curious people at the edge of town Al suddenly froze, cursed quietly under his breath, though not quiet enough that Ed couldn't hear him, before abruptly turning to his brother with a big smile.

"Brother!" He said with an almost unnatural cheer, "I'm actually really tired! Let's go find an inn first okay? We can always go and speak with the major tomorrow."

Ed looked at his brother weirdly and raised an eyebrow questioningly, "You don't seem all that tired to me."

"Oh but I am! Really really tired, please brother?" Al begged, pulling out his best puppy eyes. How he made those work when he was a huge suit of armor Ed would never understand.

He rubbed his temples tiredly before taking one last glance at his little brothers pleading stare and giving in. "Fine," he sighed, "We'll go look for an inn real quick and then you can stay there and rest while I go and talk to the major."

He glanced back up at his brother to see if he was okay with it, but was surprised to see Al looking even _more _anxious. "Ah, no, that's fine brother. But you look really tired too, are you sure you shouldn't just stay and rest? The major can wait."

Now Ed was sure something was up, he glared suspiciously at his little brother, trying to figure out what was going. "Al," he started, threateningly, "what did you do?"

Al fidgeted nervously under his brothers inquisitive glare. "Do? I have no idea what you're talking about brother." He stammered nervously. "I'm just worried about you."

Ed raised his eyebrow skeptically but finally relented and turned back to the road, causing Al to let out a relieved sigh. "Well then, if it's all the same to you we'll just go to the majors now." And with that he started walking again, leaving behind a flabbergasted Al.

"N-no! Wait!" He quickly regained his bearings and ran after the small alchemist.

Ed turned around just a fast, obviously he had been waiting for this, and Al silently cursed his brothers intuitive mind.

"We can't go to the major." Al panted out, trying to hide his nervousness.

"And why not?" Ed asked, looking pleased that he'd finally gotten his little brother to tell him.

"Because there are no attacks!"

Ed looked startled for a second, before slowly, a look of understanding dawned on his face and his eyes narrowed. "You mean…" He trailed of dangerously and Al gulped, his brother was _not _pleased. When Ed tried to control his temper was always when he was at his most dangerous. The fact that he wasn't screaming his head off right now didn't mean much good for the armored boy.

"Colonel Mustang and I made up this mission since we knew you'd refuse to stay still but you still needed to rest and we really didn't want you to get hurt again and-"

"Al." Ed cut off his brother's rambling before he'd die from lack of oxygen and Al shut up immediately hearing his brother's pissed off tone. "Are you seriously telling me we came all this way for nothing?"

Ed was trying to keep calm, really he was, but when he saw Al nodding his head sheepishly it took all he had not to start screaming. He let out a deep breath, trying to control his temper, and then turned around abruptly. "We're leaving." Was all he said, and started walking back the way they came.

"No wait! Brother!" Al followed after him, desperately trying to think of some reason for them to stay. Ed just ignored him though and kept on marching through the streets, not caring about the curious whispers of the citizens anymore.

Al was now really getting desperate, he needed his brother to stay else all their careful planning would have been for naught! And now that Envy wasn't there Ed might actually be able to relax. 'Wait, that's it!' Al thought, it would be risky of course but it was better than nothing.

"Don't you wanna know what Envy is doing here?" He asked hurriedly, and when Ed came to a sudden halt he knew he'd hit his mark. Taking his chance he quickly continued, "I mean, he said he had business here right? Who says it isn't anything bad? If we stay here we could keep an eye on him." He tried to argue reasonably, and to his great pleasure it seemed like it was working. For once he was glad for the strange connection the homunculus and his brother shared.

Ed stayed still for a few minutes longer, thinking things over, while Al waited patiently by his side. When his brother let out a loud sigh and threw him a baleful glare Al knew he had won and suppressed the urge to do a little victory dance on the spot. The townspeople were already looking at them weirdly enough without him doing so though, not that that surprised him with all the stopping, turning and running they'd been doing since their arrival. Honestly he'd have found it more surprising if they hadn't thought they were crazy by now. Ed wouldn't appreciate it either, and Al knew that if he pissed his brother off too badly right now he would probably leave anyway, and he'd had to through way too much trouble for him to risk that right now.

So Al remained quiet, even as they checked in at the local inn and trudged up to their room. As soon as they'd dropped off their bags in the room Ed stated he was going for a walk and Al knew better than to protest right now, a walk would do his brother good, so he just nodded and stated that he would be resting for a bit. Ed grunted in acknowledgement before leaving, closing the door a bit louder then he normally would have, a testament to the frustration that was still flooding his veins.

* * *

Ed was quietly fuming as he trudged along the forests edge. As soon as he'd left the stuffy inn he'd made a beeline for the nearby forest, not feeling up to dealing with all those horribly happy people in town. He couldn't believe they would trick him like that! Did he really look that fragile? He could take care of himself damnit!

Grumbling he kicked a small rock, feeling a brief flash of satisfaction as the thing went rocketing of, lodging itself deep into a tree with a satisfying thunk, automail strength really did do wonders for anger management sometimes. Scoffing he kept on walking, he couldn't believe he'd let Al convince him to stay. He should be running back to Central right now so he could knock some sense into that lying bastard of a colonel. He wasn't though and al because of one individual, Envy…

His thoughts trailed off, thinking back to the last couple of times he'd seen the other. The homunculus was acting weird, that was for sure. He was still a cruel, malignant bastard, whose goal in life seemed to be to slaughter as many people as possible and make Ed's life a living hell while at it, but something had changed since the first time he'd fought the other. And it wasn't just the homunculus' apparent sudden urge to make Ed's life a bigger mess than usual.

'_His eyes….'_

Something had changed about his eyes, but Ed couldn't quite put his finger on it and that infuriated him, almost more than his brother's and Mustang's scheme. Where before there would just be pure hatred and rage, easy enough emotions to decipher, now there were sometimes flashes of something different, something deeper, and Ed was going crazy trying to figure out what it was.

Now wasn't the time to dwell on that though, he'd taken this walk in an attempt down some and thinking about the homunculi's new, infuriating, behavior wasn't helping any. So Ed continued walking silently along the forests edge, not paying any attention to time or anything else, just walking. When he found a path leading into the forest he didn't think and started following it, heading deeper and deeper into the woods as he did so. The trees were spaced pretty far apart, and enough light fell down through the gaps in the foliage that it didn't become too dark or oppressive.

Eventually the path ended and he arrived in a clearing. He just stood there for a while taking in the soft twilight glow of the sky through the trees and enjoying the quiet, finally feeling all his anger leave him.

After a while, he didn't know how long, he looked back down again, only to startle and almost fall back when he found a curious face staring back at him. Regaining control of himself he looked at the odd child that was standing in front of him. The boy could be no older than 7 or 8 years old, yet the way look he gave the Elric seemed like it belonged to someone much older. There was something creepy about the kid, and Ed didn't like it one bit.

"Hello." The boy said, speaking curiously, yet softly, so as not to disturb the peaceful quiet in the clearing. "Who are you?"

Still caught up in trying to figure out what was wrong about the child in front of him, Ed almost didn't hear his question, but a curious tilt of the head brought his attention back to the kid in front of him.

"My name is Edward." He replied after a few uncomfortable moments. "Who are you? Shouldn't you be home right now?"

"I'm Jay." The kid chirped, "and it's fine, mommy doesn't mind. My home's close too."

"You live here? In the forest?" Ed asked, surprised.

"Uhu." The little kid nodded enthusiastically, before turning his head to the left, looking like he was listening for something. Ed turned his head and listened as well, curious what the kid was listening to.

When he did he could just barely make out the soft sound of a woman's voice calling the boy's name. Looking back at the child he saw him pouting before he turned back to Ed with a smile.

"Well it was nice meeting you mister, but I gotta go. See you!" And Ed watched as with a cheery wave the kid ran out of the clearing, leaving him alone with his thoughts once more.

Deciding he should probably start heading back as well before Al got worried, Ed turned around and left the clearing. The little boy's face still clear in his mind. There was nothing unusual about him, blonde hair, normal, blue eyes, but somehow Ed couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Even as he finally arrived back at the inn, prepared himself for bed and laid down to sleep he still hadn't figured it out and it was absolutely frustrating. When he finally did close his eyes though, an image flashed before his eyes and his sleepy mind finally figured out what had been bugging him ever since he first saw the little boy in the clearing. Because while the boy as a whole had not been anything special there was one thing that did stand out about him and now, on the verge of slumber Ed could finally see it.

The child had been wearing an ouroboros pendant.

* * *

**An1/;** Before you all get scared off by the massive rambling go check out this picture of Envy that BladefireA drew! : bladefirea. deviantart #/a rt/Pi nk-w ith-En vy-356 44275 2?_s id=ab 1dff 4. Its Envy with pink hair based on this conversation we had on how Envy kinda had a yandere feel here, nd then Mirai nikk came into it XD (for those of you who haven't watched that anime yet, go do so, if you like this story you'll probably like it ;)  
Anyways I'm not sure if the link will work (don't forget to remove the spaces) but else you can go to her profile or DA (its got the same name). So yeah, check it out! ^^  
**  
RealAn2/**Hey everyone and welcome back! :) I'm sorry for (once again) taking so horribly long. School was being a bitch (as per usual) and I really needed all my time to write this I dunno how many pages paper thingy for theology? 'M not sure what the subject is called in English sorry. Anyways, I'm finally done with that subject...forever! Hellz yes! I still have a lot of other exams and things coming up though, so I can't garantuee fast updates (though you'd all probably figured that one out already by now...sorry). Oh and I know the song doesn't really match...It was just stuck in my head and I couldn't think of anything else...

Anyways a big thank you for those of you who are sticking with this story, regardless of the just wonderful (note sarcasm) updating scheme and all my failness, we've actually almost hit 100 reviews O.O You're all amazing, I really don't deserve such awesome people like you! So yeah, thank you to everyone who faved, alerted, reviewed or read and also a big thank you to those who checked out my new story, a fullmetal faerietale (yes, I'm creative when it comes to naming stuff), and for those of you who haven't yet, go do that! :P hmm I feel I've rambled for long enough now...see you next time! :D xxx Mai


	18. Make a Move

**Chapter 17 : Make a Move**

* * *

_Somebody make a move._

* * *

That morning Ed woke up still feeling the same sense of uneasiness as the night before. That he now knew why seeing the kid had upset him so much did nothing to ease his worried mind and he resolved himself to try and find out some more about the mysterious boy in the woods.

Getting up he saw Al's empty bed and knew his brother must already be downstairs, waiting for him. He quickly walked over to the closet and got dressed. He braided his hair with practiced movements and, after checking in the mirror to see if everything was in order, made his way down.

It was still pretty early and not many people were down yet. A couple of travelers were eating breakfast, talking happily and discussing their plans for the afternoon, and a couple of old ladies were sharing the latest gossip at a table near the window. His brother was sitting at the bar, an untouched plate in front of him that he was staring at melancholically. The barman however seemed not to notice and kept on encouraging him to try some of the food his wife had cooked. Shaking his head sadly Ed quickly made his way to the bar and sat next to his brother, successfully distracting the chattering barman, besides him Al shot him a grateful look.

Ed ordered and the two sat in silence for a while, both still lost in thought, until the barman placed another steaming plate in front of Ed. Ed looked up and thanked the man, taking a bite and humming approvingly at the man's insistence. The man looked pleased, starting another rant about his wife's great cooking skills, obviously he was very proud of her, and Ed nodded along absentmindedly.

When the man finally fell quiet Ed saw his chance to get some much needed info. "Tell me, you've lived here for a long time now, right?" He asked casually. The man nodded enthusiastically and was about to start on another rant, but Ed saw and cut him off in time. "Then surely you could tell me who lives in the forest?"

Ed had expected another enthusiastic reply, so he was surprised when no such thing was forthcoming. Instead the man just looked at him weirdly, obviously trying to figure out where he got the idea to ask such a question from. "I was taking a walk yesterday night and a kid came running up to me, said he lived there. His name's Jay."

As soon as the name left his lips the man's face hardened and his eyes narrowed. Startled at the sudden change, but curious Ed leaned in a bit, certain he'd hit the jackpot now. He knew there was something wrong with that kid! He was not at all prepared for the reply he received though.

"Get out." The words were spoken clearly, disgust dripping from every syllable.

Not understanding the brothers just looked at him, the change from the happy and friendly barman that had been blabbering their ears of the whole morning to this cold man shocking them.

Seeing they weren't moving the man growled lowly before speaking again. "I said, get out!"

"B-But why?" Al stammered out. "We didn't do anything."

"Didn't do anything they say," the man grumbled angrily. "You think you're funny brat? Well think again, you know exactly what you did and I don't like it. You're lucky misses Park is not here right now or I would've kicked you out immediately . As it is I'm giving you ten minutes to grab your stuff and then I don't want to see you here ever again, understood?"

Helplessly Al looked to his brother, only to see the same helplessness mirrored in his eyes. Looking around to see if maybe some of the other inmates would be willing to help them was useless as well. They were all staring at the boys with the same cold, judging eyes, muttering quietly amongst themselves.

Seeing no other option than to comply they hurried upstairs.

"What the hell did you do." Al hissed at his brother.

"I don't know!" Ed replied in the same tone. "I just asked a question about that kid in the forest."

"What kid?" Al asked while quickly stuffing their clothes back in their bags.

"When I was out walking yesterday, this kid came up to me. He was wearing an ouroboros!" Ed replied, all his suspicions coming back in an instant.

"So?" Al was not impressed. " It was probably Envy anyways, did you even think about that?"

Ed quieted, he hadn't thought about that. What if it really had been the homunculus coming to mess with him? Envy would probably be laughing his ass off right now.

He quickly disregarded that thought though, if it was just Envy messing around again, then why did the villagers react the way they did? No, there had to be something else going on here and he was gonna find out what.

"Then why did the villagers react like that?" Ed asked. "It makes no sense."

"Nothing ever makes sense where that homunculus is concerned." Al replied, obviously still annoyed at the sudden end their peaceful holiday had met before it had even really started.

Finally Al zipped up the bag and with a last look around the now empty room let out a sigh, "All done, what now?"

"That barkeep mentioned a name, a miss Park. We should go and find her."

One look in his brothers determined golden eyes told Al there was no way his brother was gonna let this go. "Fine." He nodded, exasperated. "Then let's go."

And with that the brothers made their way out the bar and on to the street. They hadn't been outside for even a minute yet when the sounds of a large commotion reached their ears. Following the sounds they finally reached the source of the noise. Stunned they remained rooted to their spot as they took in the chaotic scene in front of them.

In the middle of the street a group of youngsters was holding back an old grandma while trying not to harm her. The old woman was fighting with all her might though, trying to claw her way through the crowd of people trying to calm her down. Yelling and screaming in her brittle old voice for her grandson and to let her through immediately. The people that weren't occupied trying to keep her still were all watching somberly, expressions dark and gloomy.

Just then the old woman turned her head their way, and Ed was shocked to see it was the sad old woman he'd first seen when entering the town. All sorrow had left her eyes though and now they were filled with a fierce determination and protectiveness. As soon as they locked eyes the woman quieted, just staring at Ed with those sharp, mercury eyes.

Soon the townspeople noticed their presence as well and they immediately started to make their way over to them."There they are, get them!" One of them yelled and they started running.

Reading the situation correctly for once the boys turned heel and ran as well, causing some of the villagers to let out angry shouts as they chased them. "Why do things like this always happen?!" Al screamed at his brother as they hurried into the forest, a mob of villagers on their heels.

"How am I supposed to know?!" Ed yelled back, and then the brothers remained quiet, they needed all their oxygen for running. Soon they'd left the mob far behind them and came to a stop in a clearing a ways from the village.

It was the same clearing Ed had ended up in last night.

Looking around Ed immediately recognized it and decided to make camp there. That way the kid might show up again and he would get his answers. Sharing his thoughts with Al, his brother agreed, and soon they were seated comfortably around a small fire.

Now all that was left to do, was to wait.

* * *

In another part of the forest the mood was a whole lot different. Hiding behind a tree at the edge of the clearing, little Jay watched in shock as the green-haired male approached his mother and slammed her into the wall of their house by her throat.

He still couldn't quite process how this had happened. He'd just been playing in the forest like usual, his mommy watching him from a small distance away, when suddenly the green-haired man had appeared in the clearing.

At first Jay had ran up to him to go and say hi, but the skirt-wearing man had rudely pushed him aside and continued on to his mother. Jay had seen his eyes then and had gotten the shock of his short little lifetime. The man's eyes were purple just like his mother's, but where mommy's eyes were always soft and gentle this man's eyes were flashing with rage. Scared, he'd ran up to the only person he could trust and hidden behind her, but the woman had pushed him away, suddenly looking just as cold as the creepy woman like man.

Shocked he'd remained standing and watched as the man approached.

"Envy." His mother had greeted him, disdain coloring her tone.

"Lust." The man, Envy, had replied. He didn't sound half as calm as his mommy though.

"What are you doing here?" Lust didn't seem at all threatened by the scary man and that had put him at ease somewhat.

"Funny." The man had growled out, and Jay could've sworn he saw his eyes flashing. "That's exactly what I was going to ask you. What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Lust had pursed her lips and a slightly annoyed look flashed through her own violet orbs. "_I_ am following my orders. Something _you_ still seem to have some trouble with."

That seemed to be the breaking point for the green-haired male as immediately afterwards he'd picked up Lust and slammed her into the building. Not knowing what to do and frozen with fear Jay had just remained near the tree where his mommy had been sitting and watched everything from a distance.

This was like _that_ time all over again.

* * *

"You will explain this. Right. NOW." Envy growled as he tightened his grip on Lust's throat. He was beyond pissed off. All day long he'd been watching how the other homunculus had interacted with the child and what he'd seen, combined with his orders not to get anywhere near the area , were enough to make him uneasy. If this was anything like what he suspected it was…

"What's there to explain?" Lust asked, and Envy suppressed the urge to just snap her neck at her whole 'high and mighty' expression. He tried hard to reign in his raging emotions and continued with a forced calm.

"Why are you training this kid? I thought we already had all the alchemists we needed."

Lust just laughed mockingly and Envy narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He tightened his grip some more and pressed her harder into the wall, looking at her threateningly. Soon Lust was gasping for breath and had to stop laughing, she still kept that cruel smile though and Envy felt his uneasiness grow.

Finally, after another tense minute or so, she answered, and when she did it was in that same derisive tone Envy hated so much. "Oh we _used to_ have all the alchemists we needed alright. But then someone went and got a little _attached, _started messing with them a little…_too much_. Sounds familiar?"

This time Envy didn't even try and control himself, he knew what that meant ; Dante wanted to get rid of _his_ Edward. He pulled his arm back, shifted it, and not 5 seconds later a massive spike was sticking through Lust's abdomen.

"You stay away from him!" He growled threateningly at Lust. "He's MINE!" Then he twisted his bladed arm and felt a rush of satisfaction as blood came gushing out of the wound and painted his hand crimson.

Just then he became aware of a startled yell somewhere behind him and when he turned around he just saw the kid running into the woods. Letting out a curse he tried to pull his arm back but Lust had grabbed onto him and was keeping him in place. He looked up and saw her smile sweetly at him.

Momentarily distracted he didn't notice as she loosened one hand and suddenly his own abdomen got pierced by her nails. Cursing he jumped back and this time Lust let him.

"Wrong move." Envy growled out and ran forward again, Lust meeting him halfway. He flipped over her though and tried to kick her legs out from under her but she jumped up and evaded his strike, trying to slash him with her nails while she did so.

Envy rolled to the side and, with another flip, got back on his feet. He cursed when he saw the distance between them, Lust was mainly a long range fighter after all, and immediately started running to try and close the distance, evading nails as he went.

This continued on for a while, both homunculi scoring hits every now and then, only for the other to regenerate the damage as soon as it was done, until finally Envy ducked another one of Lust's slashes and managed to get under her guard long enough to land an uppercut strong enough to break her neck.

Lust stumbled back a bit, but quickly raised her arms to try and snap her head back. She wasn't fast enough though and Envy managed to get his hand around the philosophers stone in her chest just as her head snapped back. He smiled grimly at her as he slowly started to pull the stone out of her body. Lust screamed and tried to stop him but it was useless, those few moments of defenseless had been the end of her. With one last, harsh pull he finally tore the stone from her chest and after considering for a few moments threw it into the lake before cutting the still desperately struggling body in front of him into pieces.

He knew it wouldn't kill the other, you needed a whole lot more than that to kill a homunculus, but it did feel damn good and served the purpose of distracting her long enough so that he could kill the kid. No one would try and replace _his_ Chibi.

Envy would make sure of it.

And with a last look around the now ruined clearing and a cruel smirk he turned and disappeared between the trees.

* * *

Somewhere else in the same forest an old woman struggled through the heavy foliage. She'd had to leave the path so her pursuers wouldn't find her but she didn't care. Her old and brittle bones protested and creaked as she pushed apart another set of branches. It didn't matter though, nothing mattered as long as she'd reach her goal.

'_Jay…'_

* * *

**AN:** and that's it :P Now don't murder me for the kinda, sorta cliffie! I promise you'll love next chapter (I love it at least) and you can't read that if you kill me right? Anyways I don't really have a lot of time right now, I've got a bunch of exams this week and the next (math oh math, why do you torture me so?) and I've been ill the last couple of days as well so I didn't really get a lot of time to study…it's that I already had most of this typed up else you'd have probably had to wait another week…But you didn't have to so that's good right? :D Anyways a big thank you to everyone who read, faved, alerted and /or reviewed. You're all great and the reason this story is still going strong! Happy Easter xXx-Mai


	19. Get Out Alive

**Chapter 18 : Get out alive**

* * *

_If I stay it won't be long  
_  
_'Til I'm burning on the inside  
_  
_If I go I can only hope  
_  
_That I make it to the other side_

* * *

Ed slowly stirred as he felt someone shaking him softly. Recognizing the metal texture of his brother's hands he ignored his first instinct, which was to violently fling the other person away from him, and turned around, intent on going back to sleep.

Al insisted though, and soon a disgruntled Ed was sitting upright in his sleeping bag, trying to glare a hole through his brother's armor but failing terribly, his sleepy features not intimidating in the least.

"What's going on." He grumbled, voice still hoarse from sleep. "What did you wake me up for, it's too early." He motioned to the sky where the stars were only just starting to appear.

"Shhhh." His brother frantically motioned for him to be quiet. "I hear something. Listen."

Still a bit grumpy, but a lot more attentive now, Ed nodded and did as his brother commanded him. Closing his eyes, he calmed down and focused on his surroundings. At first he only heard the wind rustling the many leaves of the trees littering the clearing, but when he concentrated some more he suddenly noticed the sound of branches snapping,_ many _branches snapping . It was faint and whatever was making the noise seemed far away still, but the longer he listened, the louder the sounds got. Ed didn't know what it was making these noises, but it was obvious they were about to find out.

"Get ready." He told Al, and the armored boy nodded, facing the woods. Getting out of his sleeping bag quickly, Ed got up and moved next to Al.

A tense silence followed as both stood silently, listening as the sounds became louder and louder. Eventually they could make out what sounded like light, but rushed, footsteps and they both shared a questioning look before looking back to the woods, just in time to see a small, haggard figure bursting from its depths.

They both watched in shock as the small blonde boy fell to his knees a couple of meters in front of them and immediately scrambled back up again. He hurriedly looked behind himself with wide, blue eyes, seemingly scared that something might be following himself, before turning back to the clearing in front of him, obviously planning to start running again. When he saw Ed and Al waiting for him though, he recoiled and his frightened blue eyes widened some more. His eyes flicked to the side quickly and Ed could see him planning a different escape route.

He had recognized the boy though, and he wasn't planning on letting him go so easily this time. "Wait!" He called out. The boy's eyes snapped up, startled, and he slowly took a step back, ouroboros pendant swinging back and forth wildly around his neck. Ed silently cursed himself for scaring the kid further and slowly took a small step forward, raising his hands to show he meant no harm, and tried again in a softer voice.

"Jay, wait. It's me, Edward. You remember me, right? From last night." Jay seemed startled at the use of his name, and Ed was glad to see it snapped him out of his stupor somewhat.

How he had ever believed this boy was Envy Ed didn't know because while the homunculus could certainly act, there was just no way he could have faked the look on the boy's face right now. There was a wild, almost animalistic fear in his eyes that couldn't be faked by any actor, be it human or homunculus.

The boy looked at the brothers intently and Ed could see the recognition flashing through his eyes when he looked back at Ed again. Taking this as a good sign he continued, still in that same placating tone, like he was trying to sooth a wild animal instead of a frightened boy. "We don't want to hurt you, just tell us what's wrong."

Something seemed to snap inside the kid because one moment he was still standing halfway between the trees and the next moment he had thrown his arms around Ed and was sobbing into his chest. He looked at Al desperately, wondering what he should do now, and the other made a hugging motion with his arms. Looking at the child crying in his chest he awkwardly patted his back and closed his arms around the child. The boy only sobbed harder in response and Ed almost let go again, afraid he'd done something wrong, but a quick look at Al showed him he was doing the right thing.

Sighing he relaxed and softly patted the boy's head a couple of times. It reminded him of the times he'd calmed down Al after the boy had had a nightmare when they were younger, and in the period after their mother's death.

Slowly but surely the sobbing stopped and the boy calmed down a bit, though Ed could still feel the tension in his small frame and knew this was far from over.

He moved back a little bit and peered down straight into the puffy red eyes of the child. The eye contact seemed to startle the boy and he blushed, obviously a bit embarrassed over his outburst. The boy started fidgeting awkwardly and Ed let go, stepping back to give the child some space to calm himself.

Jay still stuck close to Ed though, obviously feeling intimidated by Al's armored appearance. Seeing the unsure looks the boy was throwing his brother Ed decided to quickly interfere. "That's my little brother, Alphonse, you can call him Al though."

"Hi." Al waved unsurely but quickly lowered his arm again when he saw the boy shrink further back.

"Is he really your brother?" The boy whispered to Edward. "He looks so big."

Ed quickly stamped down his first reaction, which was, of course, to start ranting about how he wasn't short but managed to control himself just in time, reminding himself that the boy hadn't called him short exactly, just said that Al was very tall. Two very different things.

Apparently he hadn't managed to control his expression as well as he thought though, because when he looked back down again the child was looking at him with concern. Brushing it off and deciding to get back to the matter at hand, they didn't know when the child's pursuer would catch up with them after all, he tried to look as normal as possible and crouched down, trying to put Jay at ease some more.

"Jay, can you tell me who's following you?" He asked and almost immediately regretted it when he saw the boy tense up again.

Jay looked around himself anxiously, before mumbling something softly.

"What was that?" Ed asked, and the kid looked around once more before finally uttering a couple of words that had Ed and Al freezing on the spot.

"The…The green-haired man."

"What green-haired man? What did he look like?!" Ed knew he should watch his temper but if what the kid just said was true they were in some serious trouble and had to know right away.

"Well, green hair and a skirt and he had the same tattoo and eyes as mommy, only he looked a lot meaner." Jay shuddered as he recalled the glare the man had thrown his way.

"Same…the same tattoo? Are you sure?" Ed couldn't believe what he was hearing. If what this kid said was true then things were a lot more complicated than he had first thought. Just Envy he could deal with, they'd done that many times before and, while some of those encounters hadn't ended well, he was determined not to let it happen again. If another homunculus was involved though… He didn't fancy their chances fighting and protecting Jay at the same time.

Still the boy nodded and confirmed his fears. He even grabbed the ouroboros pendant hanging around his neck and showed it to Ed. "Like this."

Seeing that Ed was stumped for the moment Al crouched down as well and took over the questioning. "And your mother, what's her name?"

Jay looked at the armored boy in distrust for a moment but at a small nod of Ed's he answered hesitatingly. "She never really told me…" He looked down, embarrassed, and scuffed the ground a bit with his foot. "The man called her Lust though!" His head snapped back up again as he remembered, feeling proud of himself for doing so.

Hearing this Ed and Al exchanged quick looks of understanding before they stood up, Al grabbed their stuff together while Ed was left to explain to the boy.

"C'mon we need to go now." He gently nudged the boy, but Jay didn't seem all that keen on leaving. There was obviously something that still bothered him and Ed could guess what it was.

"But what about mommy?" He asked in that childishly innocent tone that almost made Ed forget their situation. "That man was hurting her!"

"I'm sure your mother can take care of herself for a bit." Ed answered. "First we'll get you out of here and then we'll go back and help her, okay?"

When the little blonde still didn't seem to want to move Ed sighed and softly patted his head. "She'll be fine." He murmured in his most comforting tone, and that seemed to do it. Jay gave a shaky nod and grabbed a hold of Ed's sleeve.

Ed looked around the clearing and saw that Al had packed all their stuff and was ready to move out. He grabbed Jay's hand and they started moving out of the clearing and towards the path, intent on getting back to the village as soon as possible and leaving Jay there where he would be safe. They could always come back later to check out what the homunculi were up to.

They were just about to leave when a black cat with startlingly familiar purple eyes jumped on the path in front of them. Ed felt his blood run cold and immediately pushed Jay behind himself, trying to block the cold, cold gaze of the animal from him.

The action made the cat shift his attention to Ed and soon afterwards he started shifting. Growing and stretching, until finally a tall, green-haired male stood in his place. A tall, green-haired male that was not looking pleased, at all.

"Hand him over." Envy's voice was cold, and Ed silently recoiled when he heard the pure business like tone of his voice and the underlying hate. He thought he'd seen the homunculus angry before, enraged even, but that was nothing compared to this freezing hatred. His purple eyes were like shards of ice, sharp and unforgiving and Ed shuddered to think of what could have made him so.

Behind him Jay whimpered and those unforgiving eyes moved back to his target. Ed unconsciously moved to block him from sight again and Envy let out an annoyed growl.

"I said, hand him over Edward. It's for your own good."

Ed got another shock when he heard the homunculus use his full name, he never did that. Something was seriously wrong. He silently motioned Alphonse over and, keeping a wary eye on the enraged homunculus, Al slowly shuffled closer.

"I won't." He finally spoke up, trying to distract Envy from Alphonse's movements.

Envy just stood there, arms crossed, and watched. Uncharacteristically enough he didn't make any comments, like he usually would when Ed refused him. Now he just stood there, a strange calm on his face.

Seeing it wasn't working Ed tried another approach. "And what do you mean for my own good, how could you hurting some kid be good for me?" And he really did want to know, how could the homunculus think something like that would be good for him?

Envy just ignored his questions though, instead focusing his eyes on Al now, who had finally made his way to besides Ed and Jay, using his considerable bulk to hide the child even more from Envy's piercing eyes.

"Why do you care what's good for me anyway?"

Finally, a reaction. The other's eyes narrowed dangerously and Ed could've sworn he saw a flash of conflict flitting through them before he closed his expression of again.

"That doesn't matter." He finally responded curtly. "I'm here for the boy now, we'll play another time. And don't think I haven't noticed your little plan, both your brother and the boy will stay here."

He pinned Al with a sharp glance and Al stopped from where he'd been trying to coach Jay into running with him.

"My patience is thinning, Edward. The boy, _now_."

Ed still stubbornly shook his head though and Envy let out a tired sigh, the only sign of his usual dramatics that he'd shown till then. "I really don't have time for this." he murmured softly and in a flash he'd appeared in front of the brothers.

They had predicted his reaction though and Ed easily fended off his strike with his automail arm.

"Al! Take him and run!"

Envy didn't like that at all and moved to stop them, but Ed quickly made use of his distraction and kicked him in the stomach, making him fly back and into one of the trees lining the clearing. The homunculus got back on his feet almost immediately but the move had done what it was intended for and Al and Jay were already running down the beaten path back to the village.

Envy cursed and a brief look of annoyance flashed over his features before they smoothed out again and he moved to follow the duo. This time it was Ed who blocked the way though and the homunculus had to step back to avoid getting pierced by his automail blade.

Ed knew there was only a small chance he'd win, especially if Lust would show up and join the fight, but that wasn't his goal. He knew Envy wouldn't kill him, not yet at least, the other loved messing with him way too much, so all he had to do was stall him long enough for the others to escape.

He readied himself for Envy's counter but it never came, instead the homunculus tried to move around him and disappear into the trees, but Ed managed to notice just in time and with a quick flash of blue light the trees moved to block the other's path.

Envy growled and turned to Ed again, piercing him with the full force of his glare. "Fine, you want to play then? Let's play." And before Ed could properly react the homunculus was already on him, raining blows left and right, which the shocked alchemist could barely defend himself from. After about a minute of this one hit finally managed to get through and a fist smacked Ed right into the face and threw him through the air.

Before he could recover Envy had appeared in front of him and kicked him in the stomach, hard. Following it up with another blow to the face. The alchemist landed on the ground in a dazed heap and remained there, trying hard not to throw up.

Because of that he didn't notice as Envy threw him last unreadable glance before turning and running into the woods.

* * *

A few minutes later Ed finally regained enough awareness to realize what had happened and slowly and choppily made his way to his feet again. His head was aching and he had to stop for a moment to clear the spots from his vision, but he didn't care. He waited till he could see somewhat clearly again and sprinted off into the forest.

He couldn't let Envy win, not this time.

* * *

In another part of the forest Al was running as fast as he could away from the clearing, Jay on his back. He was incredibly worried about his brother but he knew Ed would never forgive him if he turned back now. He'd just have to trust that his brother would be okay.

He adjusted the child on his back as they turned another corner of the bendy path only to trip as he crashed into another person. He let out an uncharacteristic curse and jumped back, quickly checking to see if Jay was alright, which he luckily was, just a bit shaken, and turned his attention back on the new threat in front of them.

He watched the old woman warily, she could be Envy for all he knew after all and slowly started moving backwards, looking around quickly for alternative routes. There were none though and the woman had still not moved from her spot on the ground, her big, grey eyes focused, unmoving, on the child hiding behind Al's back.

Jay too, was watching the woman intently, a curious tilt to his head. Still, Al did not let his guard down as he watched the two look at each other.

Finally the woman broke the silence and Al was shocked to see tears run down her face as she spoke, voice broken and brittle with age. "Jay?" She asked, still looking at the boy in disbelief, yet a spark of hope had made its way into her grey orbs.

"Jay, is that really you?" She asked softly, and slowly moved to stand up, bones creaking. She sought to support herself on one of the many trees lining the path and now Al could finally really take in her features. She had a kind face and had probably been very beautiful at one time but old age and sorrow had carved many wrinkles in her features and her eyes had a permanent melancholy gleam to them. That gleam seemed to be fading the longer she stared at Jay though, and instead a desperate longing took its place.

She walked forward slowly, and reached out one, trembling hand. Al didn't know what to do as the woman came closer and closer. Should he let her touch Jay and risk her hurting the child? Or should he move away and start running again? He cast another wary glance at the woman but she seemed undaunted, instead she just kept moving forward, arm outstretched and eyes desperately roaming the child's face, looking for a sign of recognition. Al slowly felt himself relax, she wouldn't hurt the child, something in her eyes just told him.

The woman finally laid her palm on Jay's cheek and slowly the boy moved into the contact, keeping his own stormy orbs locked on the woman's. "G-grandma?" He uttered softly and touched the hand touching his face with his own small ones. "Grandma." He finally stated, seeming to remember now.

The woman's face lit up and she seemed to radiate with happiness as she slowly brought her other hand up to stroke the boy's face. "Yes." She whispered as more and more tears started making their way down her face. "My little Jay." She reached over Al's shoulder and kissed the boy on the forehead.

Al just stood there awkwardly, not wanting to break up the happy reunion but knowing they needed to move, and soon, if they wanted to escape the angry homunculi roaming the forest.

He cleared his throat awkwardly and touched the woman's shoulder lightly. "Miss…I'm sorry but we need to go, there's no time to explain, but it's not safe here." The woman startled as if she had only just remembered his presence and snapped back to the present. "Not safe?" She trailed of slightly, "Is someone trying to hurt Jay?"

Al nodded his head and the woman looked shocked for a minute before getting herself together and turning worried eyes on her grandson. "Then go. We'll talk more in the village."

Al nodded once more before offering her a spot on his back, stating that he could run much faster and that it was no problem to carry two people for him, and as soon as the woman climbed up they were off again.

It was silent the entire time, the severity of their situation finally catching up to them and the feeling of being chased made itself known. Al pushed himself as hard as he could but the clearing they'd left from was pretty far from the village and they'd need at least another ten minutes to make it out of the woods. They'd already lost way too much time talking to the old woman but it couldn't be helped and now they were running short. He could only hope his brother had managed to distract Envy long enough for them to make it out alive.

* * *

**AN/: **Okay, so this chapter was supposed to be longer and include the 'end' of this arc but it kinda ran away from me and got too big so I decided to cut it off here. I'm sorry for those of you who I'd promised an end to the evil cliffies (you know who you are ;) and also a big apology to those who I'd promised a weekend update . Like I said, the chapter kinda ran away with me and the damn bunnies just wouldn't stop biting. Next chapter will probably be up early though, since it's more like a part 2 to this one than a whole new chapter….

Anyways, in happier news…This story finally hit a hundred reviews! :DDDD *Does a happy dance* So I'd like to give an extra big thank you to all of those who reviewed, read, faved and alerted. When I started this I honestly had no idea it'd be this popular and it makes me really happy to see you are all enjoying my work. See ya next time! xXx-Mai


	20. How Soon Is Now

**Chapter 19 : How Soon Is Now  
**

* * *

_I am human and I need to be loved_

_Just like everybody else does  
_

* * *

Deep in the forest a single bubble made its way to the surface of a once tranquil lake, popping as soon as it reached the surface and creating some small waves that faded almost as soon as they came into existence. Soon though the bubble was followed by several others and the combined waves were enough to make the water splash against the edges of the lake agitatedly. A couple of deer watched curiously as a red glow started to take over the dark blue depths and spread from the center until the entire clearing was bathed in red. The water was boiling now, more and more bubbles appearing from the crimson depths and exploding with small hisses as soon as they touched the cool evening air.

As sudden as it had started though the boiling stopped again and the bloody color left the water's surface. Everything became quiet once more and, after glancing hesitantly at the rest of the herd, a brave deer approached the lake to drink. That proved to be a mistake though, as spear-like nails came shooting from the depths and crimson stained the lake once more…

* * *

Violet eyes gleamed between the branches of an old spar as their owner lazily tracked his prey's progress. Waiting for the right moment to jump down and catch the large armor and his passengers unawares and finally put an end to this bothersome chase. Normally he wouldn't really mind, he liked to play with his victims a bit after all, but right now he was pissed off and that kid was endangering his favorite plaything. _His _plaything. He growled softly, how dare Lust think she could take Edward away from him?!

He tried to distract himself from his still boiling rage by looking back down at the armor running across the path underneath him. He couldn't afford to make any mistakes now, time was not exactly on his side and Lust wouldn't stay down forever. Neither would his chibi, but he'd deal with that later. Right now, it was Showtime.

And with that last thought Envy dropped down from his branch.

* * *

Ed struggled to make haste as he dragged his numb body as fast as he could. He was forced to stop as black spots took over his vision once more and the world slowly started turning around him. He steadied himself with a low hanging branch and silently cursed the homunculus for what must have been the millionth time that day.

Envy had really done a number on him this time and, while that was to be expected, Ed still couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. He'd felt that way ever since the homunculus had first shown up and forced himself into their company and it had only grown stronger as time passed.

He had no idea what could've set Envy off like that though. Sure, they beat each other up all the time but never had he seen the other look that cold, or that pissed off for that matter. Something was changing in the homunculus and Ed feared the consequences.

* * *

Al looked up as he heard the snapping of tree branches and felt his eyes wide when he saw Envy drop down from above. He tried to evade the heel kick aimed for them, but couldn't get away fast enough. He only managed to shift slightly to the side so the kick missed its initial target, Jay, and hit him on his lower back instead. Still the force of the hit was more than enough to throw him off his feet and dent the armor at his back, causing him to go sprawling forward.

Jay and his grandmother flew of his back and rolled to the side, no longer able to hold on as their carriage slid across the dirt. They both watched, wide-eyed, as Al finally came to a halt, the homunculus landing neatly to the side just a second later.

Envy spared the heavily dented armor a cursory glance and repressed a sigh as he saw him getting up again almost immediately. He quickly looked for his target and saw the boy leaning heavily against a tree trunk, clutching his shoulder with a pained grimace, while frightened blue eyes stared at him fearfully. It didn't look like he would be running off again anytime soon.

The old woman by his side was in no condition to run either. She'd barely managed to drag herself over to the boy's side and was now watching Envy warily, trying to shield the child with her frail body. He wasn't too worried about that though, a well-placed breeze would probably be enough to knock the elderly woman of her feet at this point and, while Chibi might get mad at him for killing the old hag, if she tried to interfere he would. He was doing everything for his Chibi after all, whether the boy knew it or not, and eventually Edward would understand. Yes, eventually Ed would understand and then everything would finally be perfect.

His mind made up Envy turned back to the dented armor, only to find the boy now charging him with a raised fist. He quickly dodged to the side, avoiding the punch, and then did a quick backflip to evade a kick. As soon as his feet touched the ground again he charged forward and started his own assault. The boy was surprisingly quick for such a big and heavy armor but he was no match for a pissed off Envy.

Alphonse had already been tired from all the running he'd done that day and had been nearing his limits, so he wasn't that surprised when, after a few minutes, he could feel Envy getting the upper hand. Still he continued fighting the best he could. He needed to hold out till Ed or someone else came to help him, otherwise Jay would die. And he would never forgive himself if he let that happen. More importantly, _Ed_ would never forgive himself if the boy died.

Al knew how hard it had been for his brother to get back to normal after the last time Envy had killed someone they had been protecting. He knew that Ed still didn't sleep right at night, heard his screams as the nightmares woke him up time and time again. He'd seen the dark circles under his brothers eyes get bigger and bigger and he knew that if they lost this child his brother might never get back to normal again.

So he fought.

He fought and he fought and he _kept on fighting_ for as long as he could. He fought for the boy sitting scared stiff near the tree, he fought for the old woman who had just found her long lost grandson only to have to fear losing him once again, he fought for himself and he fought for his brother, so they would never have to feel that loss again.

Al fought with all that he had but in the end it wasn't enough.

And as his severed head smacked to the harsh dirt ground once more, rolling a bit before finally coming to a stop next to a big rock, and he looked upon his beaten and battered body and the chunks of steel littering the path he knew he wouldn't be able to get up again this time. He knew he'd lost.

And for the first time he was glad for his armored body, because he wouldn't have been able to keep on fighting for as long as he did if he were human…but more so because steel couldn't cry.

* * *

Jay watched, paralyzed, as the armored man fell down with a harsh thud and did not get up again. He wanted to run over to him, to check if he was alright, but his grandmother held him back and he shivered. This was all just too much. He'd been living happily before this, he hadn't done anything wrong, so why was this happening? Why did these things keep happening?!

Flashes of long forgotten memories kept coming to the forefront of his mind. A tall, blonde haired woman holding his hand as they played in the sand. A man with warm blue eyes watching from the distance. Those same blue eyes staring unseeingly into the distance, a trickle of blood running down that same handsome face. A woman screaming in the distance, long, blonde hair falling to the floor as a faceless assailant cruelly ripped it out at the roots.

Faster and faster the memories kept coming, until it were no longer just flashes but a small movie, playing again and again before his mind's eye.

He didn't notice as he began shivering, only vaguely aware that the green-haired man was coming closer and closer. Didn't hear as his grandmother yelled for the man to stay away. Didn't hear the man's demand for her to move aside. Didn't hear the wet squish of a hand piercing flesh.

He only felt the blood soaking his shirt and dripping from a bloodstained arm to fall on his face.

And he couldn't help but smile.

Because this was exactly like what had happened last time.

Because now his mommy would be here to rescue him soon and everything would be alright again.

* * *

Envy watched, surprised, as the boy suddenly started smiling. It was a weird kind of smile though, and it looked completely out of place on such a young face, especially when combined with the glassy, doll-like blue eyes and blood-spattered face. The child seemed to be in shock though, so that probably explained it. Envy didn't mind, whether the boy was smiling or not didn't make a difference when he had a hand through his torso.

He didn't get to actually _put_ said hand through said torso though, because just when he was about to stab the child something slammed into him from the side. Cursing he staggered to the side, preparing himself to slam his pointed hand through whatever nuisance was trying to play hero this time, only to stop abruptly when he was met with fierce gold orbs.

"Get away from him!" Edward yelled, and damn did the chibi look pissed.

* * *

Ed couldn't believe his eyes as he finally came upon the scene of the battle. Pieces of Alphonse's armor were scattered everywhere, the helmet laying brokenly near a large rock a ways of the path. Jay and his grandmother were crouched near a tree, the woman slumped against it heavily, seemingly unconscious. Jay himself didn't seem to be faring all that well either and his young face was spattered with blood, eyes wide and frightened.

And then of course, there was Envy. The green-haired homunculus was poised over the other two, arm pulled back and dagger sharp. You didn't need to be a genius to figure out what he was planning and Ed, being a genius himself, didn't have any trouble doing so. He immediately charged the unaware homunculus, slamming his shoulder into him and forcing him away from his targets.

"Get away from him!"

Envy turned around, surprised if the minute widening of his eyes was anything to go by, but he soon regained his bearings. "Chibi," He greeted him, voice the same flat monotone it had been earlier, "I thought I'd told you to stay put?"

"Like I'd ever listen to you!" Ed growled out, and his eyes flashed dangerously. "If I had that kid would be dead now."

"Like he should be." Envy growled back, and Ed could see the other growing angry again.

"The hell he should!" Ed couldn't believe what he was hearing! "The kid didn't do anything wrong, he's a-"

"Valuable asset to the homunculi and as such shouldn't be killed off because of someone's petty feelings." A cool voice interrupted him and Ed looked up, shocked, to see Lust approaching them. Her dress was in tatters and her usually so smooth voice sounded a bit haggard, but it was definitely Lust and, as seemed to be the norm now, she didn't look happy, _at all_.

"Envy." She addressed the other homunculus coldly. "Dante will hear about this."

She then proceeded to completely ignore the cursing homunculus, walking past them and to the pair near the tree. Envy made to stop her, but she just threw him a look and then flicked her eyes meaningfully to the blonde-haired alchemist at his side. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." She murmured and Envy could do nothing but clench his fists angrily as she passed.

He knew what that look meant. If he'd leave his chibi alone now she wouldn't hesitate to get her claws on Edward and that was not something he wanted to happen. If he wanted to kill the boy he'd have to leave his chibi at her mercy and that wasn't happening, in his current condition Edward had no chance at beating the other homunculus and he didn't want him to die. There was no way he'd let him die. It seemed like they were at an impasse of sorts…for now.

Edward didn't seem to grasp the severity of the situation though and made to run to the pair at the tree as well, turning his back to Envy as he did so. Not the smartest thing he'd ever done, cause soon he was pressed back against the homunculus, wiry arms wrapping around him to stop him from moving. "I wouldn't do that if I were you Chibi." Envy whispered in his ear and tightened his hold a little.

"Let me go, you bastard! Let go!" Ed desperately tried to struggle free but it was no use. He was exhausted from all the running and fighting he'd done that day and his ears were still ringing from the blow Envy had dealt him earlier.

"She won't hurt him." Envy spat, annoyed, and that caused the small alchemist to pause. He turned to look at Envy questioningly, temporarily forgetting his position, and the homunculus nodded tersely, obviously none too pleased at the current situation.

Ed regarded the homunculus warily for a moment before he decided that what was happening near the tree was much more important and he turned back to watch, trying to ignore the way his feet were dangling slightly off the ground and how he had to stand on his tiptoes if he wanted to actually _stand_.

* * *

Lust knelt down carefully in front of her charge, frowning as she looked at the bleeding woman at his side. Deciding to ignore her for now, she slowly put a hand to the boys cheek, wiping away the blood gently and softly called his name.

"Jay, Jay baby, mommy is here." She saw a small flicker of recognition pass through the otherwise empty eyes and knew he'd wake up soon.

"C'mon baby, time to wake up now." She kept stroking his cheeks gently until eventually she felt him twitch and saw his awareness returning. "That's a good boy." She encouraged him, and soon the boy was fully aware again, blinking sleepily before looking at Lust and smiling happily.

"Mommy!" He yelled and launched himself at her.

Lust laughed as she felt the boy hugging her tightly. "That's right mommy is here now." She said and pat his back softly. "Everything is going to be alright."

She cringed silently as she felt tears start to make their way down her shoulder but she allowed it. She had to keep up the act after all. "Shhh, don't worry baby. Everything's fine now hmm? Let's get out of here." She gently tried to coach the boy up and in her arms, but he suddenly stiffened and pulled back.

"But what about grandma?" He asked innocently, and pointed to the bleeding woman at his side.

Lust regarded the old woman with disgust, a cruel sneer curling her otherwise pretty lips.

"She'll stay here." She said coldly, barely managing to keep the disgust out of her voice. "Now let's go okay? Momma will buy you an ice-cream if you go now."

Jay shook his head though, he wanted to stay with his grandma. He'd thought grandma was dead too, just like his parents, but she was still alive and he'd only just found her again, he didn't want to leave her.

He turned to the old woman and shook her carefully trying to wake her up. It didn't work though and he frowned before pulling his hands back, trying to think up a different way. As he pulled his hands back though he saw they were an ugly red color. Looking at his hands he saw a red liquid was now sluggishly dripping from them and a horrified look came over him.

Looking back at his grandma he saw she had a large hole in her chest that the red fluid was slowly pouring out from.

And then he screamed.

Lust immediately tried to shush him, pulling him into a hug and telling him everything would be alright. It didn't work though and the boy recoiled from her embrace, struggling desperately in an attempt to get away.

Lust wouldn't let him though and she only tightened her hold, before standing up, pushing the bloody body to the side with a derisive scoff, and turning to walk away.

"Let go! I don't wanna go with you anymore! Grandma!" Jay was crying now, hitting her back with his fists as a new slew of memories, all of them concerning the bleeding woman on the ground, hit him full force.

He didn't understand why this was happening anymore. His mommy had always been so nice to him, she'd even saved him from the bad men back then, so why was she so mean to grandma? Grandma needed his help!

* * *

At the other side of the path Envy was having a similar dilemma. His own captive had started struggling with a renewed vigor after he'd heard the boy scream and it was getting harder and harder to hold onto him. Eventually Ed managed to free an arm and, with a quick clap of his hands, he transformed his automail in a bladed edge, cutting Envy who was still holding onto him and forcing him to let go.

As soon as he felt the constrictive hold loosening he jumped free and made his way to where Lust was dragging away the struggling child. She had her arms full with the boy and thus couldn't dodge in time to avoid Ed's strike. The blade pierced her lower stomach and she let go with a pained cry. Jay remained seated on the ground for a bit, looking completely dazed, but at a growl from Lust he immediately regained his bearings and ran back to his grandmother.

Ed let him, he didn't have the time to focus on the child when there were two pissed off homunculi closing in on him. He knew someone who would be able to do so though. Quickly checking the positions of the approaching homunculi, he clapped his hands together and focused. He'd never tried it like this before but it had to work, and with that thought he slammed his palms down on a small piece of metal near his feet. The path immediately lit up with a bright blue glow and from all over the dirt pieces of metal started to make their way over to Ed, glowing and melding together until finally a complete armor was laying at his feet.

Letting out a relieved sigh he held out a hand to his brother and watched as Al slowly got up, a bit shaky but soon he stood firm again. "You alright Al?" He asked worriedly.

"Yes, thank you for healing me, brother." The tinny voice spoke and Ed pat his back comfortingly.

"Any time." They both then turned back to their adversaries, who had paused when the light took over the clearing. "You take care of the kid. I'll deal with them." Ed said, indicating the two homunculi.

"You sure?" Al asked, sounding worried. "You're not exactly in the best condition."

"I'll manage."

Al looked at him doubtfully for a while longer, but finally nodded. "If you're sure then."

"I am." And with that Al quickly sprinted off to the pair underneath the tree again.

* * *

Envy watched with a wary eye as his chibi revived his brother and sent him off to protect the old woman and the kid again. He was getting so tired of this. Every damn time he tried to kill the kid someone got in the way. First Lust, then chibi and his tincan, and now _both of them_ were trying to stop him. He had some really shitty luck.

Sighing he turned to Lust, who was watching the exchange carefully. Best to get rid of her first, he thought, and then he attacked.

* * *

Ed watched, wide-eyed, as the homunculi started fighting. He had no idea what was going on. Weren't they supposed to be on the same side? Why were they attacking each other then? Honestly it was giving him a headache. He winced as Envy slammed Lust into a tree, hard, and snapped her neck. That had got to hurt.

Lust just shook her head though and retaliated by sticking her nails into the other's abdomen. Envy let out a pained grunt but only tightened his hold, breaking her neck again and holding her so that the bones couldn't realign correctly.

He then leaned in and they proceeded to have what looked like a very heated, but whispered, conversation. Both looking at Ed and then at the child under the tree with angered eyes. After a while Envy let go again and Lust slumped to the bottom of the tree, neck realigning itself with a sharp crack.

"Now go." Envy commanded and, after a moment's hesitation Lust nodded stiffly, before rising and walking away without looking back.

"Very well then, but don't forget what I said, Envy. Dante _will _hear of this." And with that she was gone.

* * *

Envy let out a muted curse as Lust disappeared. That had not been pretty and while Lust had, eventually, given up he was going to be in a world of trouble later on. That woman had a vengeance streak a mile wide and he had no doubt she would, indeed, go to Dante with it.

He would deal with that later though, for now he had a chibi to take care of. There was no need to kill the child any longer, since he obviously didn't want to go with Lust anymore he was now useless to her, and thus to the homunculi. Meaning he was no longer a threat for his Edward. That didn't mean Dante wasn't planning similar operations elsewhere though and that thought was quite worrying. He'd have to keep a close watch over his little chibi until he could figure out what to do about this.

Speaking of chibi, the young alchemist seemed to have made his way over to his brother and friends and was now bent over the old woman, his back to Envy. He was being surprisingly quiet and Envy couldn't help but wonder what was going on. He took a curious step forward, only to be frozen to the spot almost immediately as Edward turned around and locked gazes with him.

His golden orbs were burning.

* * *

Ed stared at the body in front of him numbly ,watching as blood slowly poured from the gaping hole in the woman's chest. Tracing the path of a drop of the life-giving fluid as it made slowly made its way down her arm and unto the ground. Watched as the small light still present in her eyes slowly started to die out. The woman was still conscious, how she managed he didn't know, but she was and her dull grey eyes were focused on her grandson's face.

Somehow, even while she was dying, the woman managed to look at peace. And Ed hated it. He hated that this woman would have to die. Hated Envy for putting a hole through her chest. Hated _himself _for not being able to do anything to stop it. He just _hated_.

A branch behind them snapped and at the same time Ed could feel something snap inside himself. He'd had enough. Enough of the games and the helplessness, of feeling his heart break every time he couldn't save someone. He was going to end it, . And no one would stop him.

He'd had enough.

And with that he turned around and locked gazes with Envy, the cause for all his misery, and charged.

* * *

Envy hurriedly dodged to the side as a fist came flying by his face. He wasn't in time to dodge the kick that followed though, surprised as he was, and was knocked of his feet by the force. He quickly got to his feet again and jumped over a bunch of spikes that rose from the ground underneath where he'd been laying just seconds before. He cartwheeled out of the way of another automail-bladed punch and finally came to a stop further along the path. Using the few precious seconds the distance gave him to analyze the situation.

Edward was pissed.

And not just a little bit either it seemed. There was an almost insane light glowing in the chibi's angry eyes and he attacked with a ferocity Envy wasn't used to seeing from the small alchemist. He cursed as he was forced to dodge another bunch of spikes, only to slam straight into Edward's outstretched fist.

It seemed like he'd really gone too far this time.

There was no way he could defend himself properly from the assault without doing some serious harm to the little alchemist though. He couldn't keep blocking forever and there was no way to gently immobilize the other either. That meant he'd have to fight.

He didn't want to fight the other when he was like this either though. The chibi wasn't in his right mind and there was no fun fighting him like that. That, and Envy was way too scared to do some serious harm to the other when he was fighting as recklessly as he was now.

He'd just have to try and dodge then, and when that stopped working he'd just have to take it.

* * *

Edward growled as he saw the accepting look in the other's eyes. This was not what he wanted. He wanted Envy to fight back! Not to look at him with those eyes, those damn, confusing eyes. He didn't want to see those eyes, didn't want to see the emotion he now suspected was hiding behind them. Didn't want to be distracted from his rage. Because when the rage left only the confusion would be left behind, confusion and a realization he really didn't want to face.

"Why are you doing this to me!" He yelled out desperately while throwing another punch, still looking into those damned eyes.

He wanted the other to tell him he was wrong. Oh how he wanted to hear Envy tell him he was wrong. Because now, after pondering on it for so long, he'd finally recognized the emotion in the other's eyes. He'd seen it in another dull, grey pair of orbs as they gazed longingly at their grandson for the last time, and even now he could still see it mirrored in the confused, violet pair in front of him.

It was different of course. Those grey orbs had been gentler, lacking the twisted cruelty and al encompassing possessiveness he was used to, but the emotion was still the same.

Envy still _looked_ at him the same.

With a cry of despair Ed threw his fist forward and hit Envy's nose with a satisfying crunch, before his exhaustion finally took a hold of him and forced him to his knees. He sat there, panting, as images began to flash before his eyes.

A late night at the hospital and an unwanted visitor. Waking up with an enraged homunculus hovering over him. A fight that seemed like it had happened years ago but was actually only a few months in the past. And always those eyes those same deep violet eyes staring at him with such an incomprehensible emotion that Ed would always be left wondering.

Not anymore though.

No, now he knew. He finally knew, yet he wished he didn't because this changed everything.

Because Envy… loved him.

And with that final realization the world turned black.

* * *

**An/:** So now he knows! I like this cliffie ^^ Actually I like quite a few things about this chapter. I dislike about just as much of 'em though. Really this gave me like, the worst case of writer's block _ever. _I don't think I've ever re-written this many parts before . I hope it came out okay though, since it's kinda an important chapter, what with Ed realizing Envy's feelings and all that… So yeah, tell me if it sucks and I'll correct it : )  
You may have noted that I added some extra theatrics to Lust's regeneration at the beginning of the chapter. That's all cause of the writer's block, nothing else came to mind and yeah…I had to start the chapter _somehow.  
_Oh and Ed's magic healing Al while he's all over the place trick thing? He magnetized the metal, like, reaaaal strongly so it would come his way, and then healed him. That sounds like it could work right? I think it would xD  
Sadly, the next update might take a while, because my finals are coming up in like, 2 weeks . I'm so not looking forward to it and I'll need to study real hard these coming weeks. So please bear with me while I'm being a not updating nerd. I'll try and getting something posted as soon as possible!  
Anyways thank you for reading and please review! xXx~Mai

ps. Go listen to this chapter's song, It's called How Soon is Now, and I personally like the LovespitLove version best. I feel like it really fits Envy's character somehow :)


	21. Shout

**Chapter 20 : Shout  
**

* * *

_They gave you life  
_

_And in return you gave them hell  
_

_As cold as ice  
_

_I hope we live to tell the tale.  
_

* * *

An elderly woman stood near the window of a large mansion, watching patiently as raindrops hit the glass and slid down until they disappeared behind the windowpanes. Her hands were tightly clasped behind her back and her slightly graying hair reflected the light of the large, crystal chandelier that hung from the ceiling. It was quite the peaceful scene and would have remained so, if not for the unnecessarily loud slam of the room's double doors hitting and denting the walls.

The woman sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose tiredly before turning and looking over at the green haired male that had so disrespectfully entered her abode. "Envy." She greeted him. "Must you always be so loud?"

The male just scoffed rudely, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but where he was now, and the woman thought she had a good idea of where, or rather with whom, he'd prefer to spend his valuable time. The thought made her already existing headache throb and she rubbed her temples with her hands before gesturing to the nearby leather couch. "Sit."

At first Envy looked like he wanted to refuse, but he'd heard the command in her voice, a certain underlying steel that he knew better than to cross, and so he complied, letting himself fall on the couch with a reluctant huff. The woman smiled in satisfaction before sitting down on the sofa across from him , back straight and hands folded across her lap primly.

It remained silent for a while, Dante observing the stubborn homunculus pouting on her couch and thinking of how to handle the current situation. Earlier that evening another of her servants, Lust, had come and complained about Envy's increasingly obsessive behavior regarding the Eldest Elric child. Dante had known of this of course. She had even predicted it up to a certain point. The boy was meant to be Envy's replacement after all, it would only be natural that the homunculus would be curious.

Never would she have thought that the boy's obsession would go any further than the destructive behavior he'd been showcasing since the beginning though. But now it was turning him against his fellow homunculi and, more importantly, her. This was unacceptable and, looking at the green haired homunculus' fidgeting he seemed well aware of this fact. There was a certain stubborn set to his jaw though that she didn't like and it wouldn't surprise her if he continued to defy her.

No matter, if she couldn't change his ways she'd just have to dispose of him. She would lose a valuable asset in doing so but she couldn't allow Envy to run unchecked anymore. He was far too dangerous for that. Her decision made Dante turned back to the somewhat nervous homunculi, glaring at her from the couch. To anyone else he may have seemed completely at ease, angry maybe, but relaxed, not frightened at all. Dante knew better though, the green haired male might have been a masterful actor but she'd known him for centuries and she could see his agitation. It was in the tense set of his shoulders and jaw, and in the way he kept crossing and uncrossing his legs while he waited.

She suppressed a satisfied smirk, before deciding to finally break the tense silence that surrounded the pair. "I trust you know why you're here?" She asked, though it was more a statement than anything else.

Envy apparently noticed as well and chose to remain silent.

Dante didn't let his silence stop her though and just continued. "Lust told me you almost killed her." She said. "And all that for an Elric no less. Why?"

"Tchh. Who said I did it for the Elric? Lust was just being annoying, that's all." Envy replied. "I'd kill the brat in a heartbeat if we didn't need him."

"Well that's good then." Dante smiled, a mean little smirk that showed just how little she trusted Envy. "Because that's exactly what you're going to do."

It remained silent for a while, just a few seconds longer than a normal silence but enough to show Dante how much she'd shocked the green haired male.

Envy composed himself quickly though. "I thought we needed him?" He asked, careful to keep his voice neutral, though his eyes still showed some conflict for those who knew where to look.

"We did, and now we don't need him anymore." Dante smiled another cruel smile. "Since I know how much you've wanted to kill him I figured I'd give you a chance."

Envy grinded his teeth together angrily, knowing he had no chance but to accept now or else Dante would get even more suspicious. After taking a small pause he managed to nod his head jerkily and finally muttered out a thank you.

Dante smiled benignly and nodded her head, watching as the usually so graceful homunculus rose jerkily to his feet and bowed slightly. "Will that be all?" He asked, looking almost like it pained him to remain polite and keep his anger in check.

"Yes I do believe so." She replied and Envy nodded once more before turning sharply and heading towards the large double doors. Just as he was about to pass through them Dante called out to him for the last time. "Oh and Envy? Don't disappoint me." The 'or else' remained unspoken, though it was clear enough to both of the room's occupants. Dante watched as the homunculus paused and his already tense shoulders tensed some more before he slammed the doors open and left.

Dante looked after him for a minute, expression pensive and calm, before she smirked again and gestured to the shadows in one of the corners of the room. Out came a woman dressed in a long, floor-length, purple dress, with long, perfectly manicured nails and a voluptuous figure.

Lust looked at the double doors, that were still swinging slightly on their hinges from where Envy had closed them with just a tad bit too much force, for a moment before turning her naturally smoldering gaze on Dante.

"You believe he will actually go through with it this time?" Her usually sultry drawl colored with disdain as she thought back to how Envy had turned against her before.

Dante scoffed in response, shaking her head and turning back to the window just in time to see a green haired figure storming of into the distance through the rain slicked glasses.

"I don't." She stated curtly. "How could I ever, when I know the extent of his obsession?"

"You can't." Lust answered simply, thinking back to her own experiences with the volatile homunculus when the objects of his 'affections' was threatened. "He becomes completely unreasonable when that boy is near."

The older woman nodded sagely. "Exactly." She said, the slightest hint of regret coloring her brittle voice, though whether from regret over losing a great asset or from losing the one who had once been her son Lust could not say. Dante's grey orbs hardened though as she continued,

"That's why you are going after him, to make sure he does as he's told this time."

Lust nodded, a small vindictively satisfied smile pulling at the corners of her full lips.

"And if he won't?"

Granite met amethyst as Dante replied, not a hint of doubt or regret present anywhere in her countenance. "I have no need for a child that refuses to listen."

The smile became a full blown smirk as Lust nodded her head in understanding and husked an 'Understood' before turning and walking from the room at Dante's dismissal.

Neither of the women heard the startled gasp that followed the end of their conversation and, more importantly, the conclusion they had reached. Just before Lust reached the doors a shadow separated from the other shades behind them and ran away unseen, not even the barely there sound of hurried footfalls betraying its existence.

* * *

**AN/:** And that's it for now. My most sincere apologies for the wait. As I mentioned before I had my finals (they went well ) to study for and then I went away for a week to Portugal with my friends (which I did forget to mention xD). Upon my return I found my computer had decided to give me a little welcome home present in the form of a blue screen of death every 20 minutes that managed to delete all my writing progress . So yeah, It's a bit later than planned but I hope you'll all have enjoyed anyways A big thank you regardless to all of you who read, faved, alerted and reviewed in the mean time!

Next time we'll get back to our beloved Chibi and his traumatic realizations (Which I know yr all waiting for but since I'm a cliffie loving bitch you'll still need to wait), see you then! xXx~Mai


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